Projectiles fired as protesters and police clash again over Daunte Wright shooting

Police clashed with protesters for a third night in a Minneapolis suburb rocked by the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Sunday.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Brooklyn Center's police headquarters chanting "we can't take no more" and "no justice, no streets" as they called for justice for Mr Wright.

The demonstrations began peacefully on Tuesday outside the police department, but as nightfall fell and a 10pm curfew approached police used pepper spray and flash bangs to disperse the crowd.

Minnesota State police used loudspeakers to warn that the gathering had been declared unlawful and ordered people to leave the area.

Those who remained were met by a heavy law enforcement presence, with police officers and National Guard troops lining up in front of the station and firing projectiles to move people along.

Some in the crowd launched fireworks toward the station and threw objects such as water bottles at police but were swiftly pushed back.

The state police said the dispersal order came before the 10pm curfew because protesters were trying to take down the fencing and throwing rocks at police.

The number of protesters dropped rapidly over the next hour, until only a few remained. Police also ordered all media to leave the scene.

The third night of protests was triggered by the fatal shooting of Mr Wright in Brooklyn Center, around 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed last May.

Officials said police officer Kim Potter, a 26-year-veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police force, accidentally shot Mr Wright after discharging her gun instead of her Taser during the traffic stop.

She resigned on Tuesday saying it was in the “best interest of the community.”

Police said Mr Wright died after being pulled over for an expired car registration. Officers then discovered there was a warrant out for Mr Wright and attempted to arrest him. During a struggle Ms Potter mistakenly used her gun instead while yelling "Taser."

In Ms Potter's body camera footage, released by the police, the officer can be heard saying in surprise: "Holy s---, I think I shot him". The killing adds to the heightened tension in the region as it awaits the conclusion of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with killing Mr Floyd.

Despite a steady flurry of snow, protesters rallied outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters for hours on Tuesday evening to make their frustrations known.

Julious Zinnah, a 17-year-old student, said he was out protesting for a second consecutive night because the injustice had hit home.

"I'm not really used to this because all this racial injustice hasn't been close to my area [before], but now it's close to me it gets to me more," he said. His friend Malcolm Zeah lives in the nearby city of Andover, but said he felt it was important to show his support.

"The more people that come out, the more people that show up, [the better]. I want to get more attention" to the issue, he said.

Maranda, a 23-year-old cashier, said "nothing's really changed" since she participated in the protests around Mr Floyd's death last summer.

Mr Wright was a friend of a friend she said, adding what had happened to him "could have been any of us".

Earlier on Tuesday, the city's mayor Mike Elliott said he hoped officer Potter's resignation would "bring some calm to the community" but insisted he would keep working toward "full accountability" for Mr Wright's death.

A decision on whether prosecutors will charge her over the killing could come as soon as Wednesday.