Police in Minneapolis shot and killed a man in an exchange of fire during a traffic stop on the south side of the city on Wednesday night, officials said.
John Elder, a police spokesman, said the incident happened at around 6:15 pm, while police were making a traffic stop with a man suspected of a crime.
Elder said the man was pronounced dead on the spot by medical personnel. A woman in the car came out unscathed, Elder said. He declined to say whether the police found a gun at the scene.
The elder said that no officers were injured. He said he did not know how many police officers carried out the traffic stop. The police officers’ cameras were on.
Police chief Medaria Arradondo said witnesses said the man fired first. He promised to release the video from the police corps cameras on Thursday.
“I want our communities to see this so that they can see for themselves,” he said. Until then, Arradondo said: “Please give me, (state) investigators, give us time, let’s get the evidence, get the facts, so that we can process this.”
The state’s Criminal Seizure Department has been called in to handle the investigation.
The shooting took place less than a kilometer from the corner where George Floyd died in May, after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for minutes, even when Floyd claimed he could not breathe. Sometimes it sparked violent protests that spread across the country and made the Black Lives Matter an international cause.
In the aftermath of the shooting on Wednesday night, videos posted on social networks by a Star Tribune reporter showed a crowd of protesters shouting at police and police in riot gear.
Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement late on Wednesday that he was working with Arradondo to obtain information about the shooting and promised to release it as soon as possible in coordination with the state investigation.
“Last year’s events marked some of the darkest days in our city,” said Frey. “We know that a life has been shortened and that trust between communities of color and security forces is fragile … We must all be committed to obtaining facts, seeking justice and maintaining peace.”
In Minneapolis, Floyd’s death led to an impulse for a radical change in the police department, long criticized by activists for what they call a brutal culture that resists change. An impulse by some councilors to replace the department with a new public security unit failed this summer.
Frey and Arradondo, who objected to ending the department, offered several policy changes since Floyd’s death, including limiting the use of so-called detonation ban warrants, reviewing force use policies and requiring officers to report their attempts at calm situations.
All four policemen involved in Floyd’s death were fired and quickly charged with his death. They are scheduled for trial in March.
With the Associated Press