Cop, police chief resign 2 days after Black motorist's death
Brooklyn Center (Minnesota): A white police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb resigned Tuesday, as did the city's police chief moves that the mayor said he hoped would help heal the community and lead to reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest.
But police and protesters faced off once again after nightfall Tuesday, with hundreds of protesters gathering again at Brooklyn Center's heavily guarded police headquarters, now ringed by concrete barriers and a tall metal fence, and where police in riot gear and National Guard soldiers stood watch. Murderapolis was scrawled with black spray paint on a concrete barrier.
Whose street? Our street! the crowd chanted under a light snowfall.
About 90 minutes before the curfew deadline, state police announced over a loudspeaker that the gathering had been declared unlawful and ordered the crowds to disperse. That quickly set off confrontations, with protesters launching fireworks toward the station and throwing objects at police, who launched flashbangs and gas grenades, and then marched in a line to force back the crowd.
You are hereby ordered to disperse, authorities announced, warning that anyone not leaving would be arrested. The state police said the dispersal order came before the 10 p.m. 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 resignations from Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon came two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sunday's shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of an officer charged in George Floyd's death.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said at a news conference that the city had been moving toward firing Potter when she resigned. Elliott said he hoped her resignation would bring some calm to the community, but that he would keep working toward full accountability under the law.
We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that. His family deserves that, Elliott said.
A decision on whether prosecutors will charge Potter could come as soon as Wednesday. Meanwhile, the cities of Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and St. Paul imposed 10 p.m. curfews.
Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser! However, protesters and Wright's family members say there's no excuse for the shooting and it shows how the justice system is tilted against Blacks, noting Wright was stopped for an expired car registration and ended up dead.
Activists who attended the mayor's news conference called for sweeping changes to the Brooklyn Center Police Department and sharply criticized the acting police chief, Tony Gruenig, for not yet having a plan.
Elliott said the department has about 49 police officers, none of whom live in Brooklyn Center. He said he didn't have information on racial diversity at hand but that we have very few people of color in our department.
The modest suburb just north of Minneapolis has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70 per cent of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Hispanic.
After stopping Wright for the expired license plates, police tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. The warrant was for his failure to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.
Body camera footage released Monday shows Wright struggling with police when Potter shouts, I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.
After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and Potter says, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.
Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.
Protests began within hours.
In her one-paragraph letter of resignation, Potter said, I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately."
Wright's father, Aubrey Wright, told ABC's Good Morning America that he rejects the explanation that Potter mistook her gun for her Taser.
I lost my son. He's never coming back. I can't accept that. A mistake? That doesn't even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I can't accept that, he said.
Chyna Whitaker, mother of Daunte's son, said at a news conference that she felt police stole my son's dad from him.
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said in a statement Tuesday that no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.
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Osman Hadi murder: Prime accused denies role, claims he was in Dubai
Dubai: The murder case of Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi has taken a new turn after the prime accused, Faisal Karim Masud, publicly denied any involvement in the killing, asserting that he was in Dubai at the time, contradicting earlier claims by Bangladesh police that he had fled to India.
In a video message that has gone viral on social media, the authenticity of which has not been independently verified, Masud rejected the allegations against him and described the case as a fabricated conspiracy. He claimed that a radical political group was responsible for the attack on Hadi and said he had been falsely implicated.
“I am Faisal Karim Masud. I want to state clearly that I am not involved in the murder of Hadi in any way. This case is completely false and based on a fabricated conspiracy,” Masud said in the video. He added that he was forced to leave Bangladesh and travel to Dubai due to the allegations, despite holding a valid five-year multiple-entry visa for the UAE.
Masud acknowledged that he had visited Hadi’s office shortly before the shooting but maintained that their relationship was purely professional. Describing himself as a businessman who owns an IT firm and a former employee of the Ministry of Finance, Masud said he had approached Hadi regarding a job opportunity. According to him, Hadi sought an advance payment of 500,000 taka for arranging the job and also requested donations for various programmes, which he said he provided.
The accused further alleged that his family members were being harassed and falsely implicated in the case. “They have no involvement whatsoever. This kind of inhumane treatment of my family is unjust and unacceptable, and I strongly protest against it,” he said.
Masud also accused Jamaat-linked elements of orchestrating Hadi’s killing, claiming the student leader was targeted by “Jamaati elements” and that he and his younger brother were deliberately framed. A photograph purportedly showing Masud’s UAE visa has also circulated widely online.
Earlier, Bangladesh police had stated that Masud and another accused, Alamgir Sheikh, fled the country after the killing and entered India through the Meghalaya border. Media reports in Bangladesh claimed the two crossed over via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh district and were currently in India. India, however, has firmly denied any connection between the accused and its territory, calling the allegations a false narrative being pushed by extremist elements.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in Bangladesh’s student uprising last year, was shot in the head by masked gunmen in Dhaka on December 12 and succumbed to his injuries six days later at a hospital in Singapore. He had emerged as a prominent leader during the student-led protests that culminated in the end of Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
