Reporters were seen telling a Minnesota police chief not to use the term “riot” when he explained how officers responded to violence near Minneapolis during a press conference.
“Just so everybody is clear, I was front and center at the protest, at the riot,” Police Chief Tim Gannon of Brooklyn Center told reporters Monday when questioned why his department issued a dispersal order Sunday evening after the police shooting of a black man.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Gannon: “I was front and center… at the riot.”
Reporter: “There was no riot.”
Gannon: “There was… the officers that were putting themselves in harm’s way were being pelted with frozen cans of pop, they were being pelted with concrete blocks.” pic.twitter.com/aM5rfjYpxx
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 12, 2021
“There was no riot,” one reporter responded.
“Don’t do that,” another person is heard saying, as others joined in that there wasn’t a riot.
“There was … the officers that were putting themselves in harm’s way were being pelted with frozen cans of pop, they were being pelted with concrete blocks,” Gannon continued.
“Yes, we had our helmets on. We had other protection gear. But an officer was injured, hit in the head with a brick … he was transported to the hospital. So, we had to make decisions, we had to disperse the crowd because we can’t allow our officers to be harmed.”
DAUNTE WRIGHT SHOOTING WAS ‘ACCIDENTAL,’ OFFICER MEANT TO USE TASER, POLICE CHIEF SAYS
The press conference came after Daunte Wright, 20, died in the Minneapolis suburb during a traffic stop after police tried to arrest him, following them discovering he had an outstanding warrant. Wright was seen struggling with police and attempting to flee in his car before being shot.
Wright had reportedly failed to appear in court on charges he fled officers in June and was in possession of a gun without a permit.
Gannon said Wright’s death was an accident, as the officer who shot him meant to fire her Taser but instead used her handgun.
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His death quickly spread on social media and sparked civil unrest in the area, with police deploying rubber bullets and tear gas on the crowds.
A liquor store in Brooklyn Center, Minn. was destroyed by BLM looters overnight. #Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/fc1xwLT4LU
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
A gas station convenience store was looted clean by #BLM rioters overnight in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Rioters & protesters are responding violently to the police killing of a wanted criminal suspect who tried fleeing by vehicle. #DuanteWright pic.twitter.com/ctRa6Y5bFl
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
