Protesters gather at Brooklyn Center police HQ for a fourth night

Liz Sawyer, John Reinan, Star Tribune
·2 min read

For the fourth night in a row, protesters gathered Wednesday night outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department, many of them demanding that more serious charges be brought against the former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright.

"What she did is murder! How do you not know your Taser from your gun?" asked Loretta VanPelt of TCC4Justice, a group seeking police accountability, before a 7 p.m. rally began.

Earlier Wednesday, former Brooklyn Center officer Kimberly A. Potter was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. She resigned on Tuesday.

Since Sunday, hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the police station to protest police violence toward Black people.

Tensions escalated Tuesday night when more than 60 people were arrested for riot and other criminal behaviors after law enforcement moved in with heavy force against an estimated 800 to 1,000 protesters.

VanPelt and others questioned the need for the heavy police presence.

"How are we the violent ones? They're the ones ready for war," she said of the National Guard members and riot police stationed behind fortified fences across the street. "They're the ones dressed for war."

Brooklyn Center and a few other metro suburbs again declared curfews Wednesday night. Brooklyn Center and adjacent Brooklyn Park declared curfews from 10 p.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Thursday. Curfews were not enacted in Minneapolis or St. Paul.

After looting in Brooklyn Center and parts of Minneapolis on Sunday and Monday nights, none was reported Tuesday night.

Potter fatally shot the 20-year-old Wright during a traffic stop Sunday. Police Chief Tim Gannon said she appeared to mistake her gun for a Taser. On Monday, Brooklyn Center police officials released body-camera video showing Potter grabbing her sidearm and shooting Wright as he appeared to try to flee in his car during the stop.

Potter and Gannon resigned Tuesday.

liz.sawyer@startribune.com • 612-673-4648

john.reinan@startribune.com • 612-673-7402