Minneapolis Police Say Shooting Death of Unarmed Man was ‘Accidental’

As the trial of Derek Chauvin continues in Minneapolis this week, just a few miles away, another tragic police-involved death is under investigation.

Chauvin was the officer who was seen kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nearly 9 minutes last year, in an incident that culminated in the death of Floyd and mass, nationwide protests.  Now, in a cruel twist of irony, another unarmed black man was killed by police just down the road, in what the authorities are now calling an accident.

Tear gas has been fired and a curfew imposed amid angry protests after police fatally shot a black man in a traffic stop in the US city of Brooklyn Center, just north of Minneapolis.

The man has been identified by relatives as 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

Police Chief Tim Gannon has told media the shooting was accidental.

“It is my belief the officer meant to deploy their Taser but shot him with a single bullet,” he said on Monday morning.

The officer is now on administrative leave while an investigation is carried out.

Brooklyn Center’s mayor issued a curfew that lasted until 06:00 (11:00 GMT), telling people to “be safe, go home”.

The death almost immediately drew criticism from the surrounding community, and police officers investigating Wright’s death were approached and harassed by a crowd of onlookers on Sunday.

The Minnesota National Guard was also deployed to the area in an effort to keep the chaos to a minimum.