US deploys 500 soldiers to Minnesota amid protests

The state of Minnesota ordered this Monday the deployment of 500 National Guard reservists in the face of protests in the last hours over the death of a black man by the shooting of a police officer and the proximity of the end of the trial against the former agent accused of murdering the African-American George Floyd in May.

Increased security measures occur when nerves are on the surface in Mineapolis, who is anxiously awaiting the outcome of the trial against Derek Chauvin, one of the four police officers charged in Floyd’s death.

Local television images showed National Guard troops deployed in the town of Brooklyn Center, a city northwest of Minneapolis, where the African-American Daunte Wright He died Sunday killed by a police officer.

The reservist soldiers were stationed in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, which was attacked with rocks and other objects Sunday night in a riot over the death of Wright.

A FIREARM INSTEAD OF AN ELECTRIC GUN

Wright, 20, was “accidentally” shot by a white agent during a traffic stop, Tim Ganno, the Brooklyn Center Police Chief, explained at a press conference Monday.

According to Ganno, the police wanted to use a stun gun known as a “taser” to immobilize Wright, but they got confused and fired a bullet with his firearm that killed the man.

At the press conference, a video of the event was shown in which it is seen how three agents approach Wright’s vehicle, one of them tries to handcuff him, but the man resists, starts a struggle and, then, the police take out his gun and yells in warning: “Taser! Taser! Taser! ”.

A shot is heard, the agent exclaims in surprise and says: “I shot him.”

The police officers intercepted the vehicle because it did not have some papers in order, they asked Wright for identification and then they realized that he had an arrest warrant pending for not having appeared in court for the crimes of illegal possession of a weapon and resistance to The authority.

Then the police tried to handcuff him, but he resisted, tried to get back into his vehicle and that’s when he was shot.

The car propelled forward and traveled several blocks before colliding with another car. Inside the vehicle, there was a woman – allegedly Wright’s girlfriend – who was not injured.

The authorities continue to investigate what happened and the police involved in what happened have been temporarily suspended.

“IT COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AT A WORSE TIME”

At the same press conference, the mayor of Brooklyn Center, the African American Mike Elliott, acknowledged that the event further fuels tensions in the area.

“This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. We recognize that this is happening at a time when our community, indeed the entire US, the entire world, has an eye on us, ”Elliot said.

Wright’s death occurred less than 20 kilometers from the Minneapolis court where the trial against Chauvin is taking place, who on May 25, 2020 pinned Floyd to the ground by pressing his knee against his neck until he stopped breathing.

Just today, the judge in charge of the case, Peter Cahill, announced that the final arguments of the defense and the prosecution will be next Monday, which brings the process closer to its end.

BIDEN CALLS TO AVOID VIOLENCE

For his part, in statements to the press in the Oval Office, US President Joe Biden called for calm and asked to avoid “violence” in the protests over the “tragic” death of Wright.

Biden stressed that there is “absolutely no justification for violence” in the demonstrations for what happened, which on Sunday led to the throwing of rocks and other objects at the Brooklyn Center police department.

In addition, the White House is in contact with the Mayor of Brooklyn Center, the Governor of Minnesota, Democrat Tim Walz, and other state and local authorities for their need for help.

As a precautionary measure, the Minnesota Twins baseball team announced that it has suspended the game it was scheduled to play this afternoon against the Boston Red Sox.