News / Politics

US protesters take to streets after Minneapolis police fatally shoot man

Thursday, 31 December 2020 11:04 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 31 December 2020 11:06 AM ]

US police officers in Minneapolis respond to the scene where at least one officer fatally shot a man less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed in May. (Photo by KARE-11)

US Protesters have gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, near the scene of a deadly shootout by the police, marking the first killing by the police since the death of African-American George Floyd in the city in May.

The large crowd shouted slogan at police as they blocked the street. A video shows a group of angry residents chasing away a police cruiser.

Police in riot gear were later dispatched to the area, with a journalist on the ground saying that the situation had become “extremely volatile and uneasy.”

Police shot and killed a man in an exchange of gunfire, after pulling his vehicle over on Wednesday night, the city’s police force said. Many of the details about the shooting remained murky.

Police said the slain man was suspected of being involved in a felony case when the individual opened fire on police. The officers then returned fire, killing the man.

The shooting occurred less than a mile from the street corner where George Floyd died at the hands of white Minneapolis officers. His death sparked protests in the city that quickly spread across the United States and abroad, and led to nationwide efforts to “defund” police departments accused of racist and violent behavior.

The Wednesday police killing came days after fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by the police in Columbus, Ohio, which sparked a fresh wave of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the US.

Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was shot several times on Tuesday morning by a police officer who had turned off his body camera.

The 60-second body camera look back shows the man walking toward the officer holding a cell phone in his left hand, but his right hand was not visible.

Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan announced Thursday he was going to fire Officer Adam Coy on allegations of "critical misconduct".

Police-involved shootings and killings of black men in the hands of white police officers have led to mass protests across the country in recent years, giving birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rights group said earlier this year the “rather than using his position to serve as a force for calm and unity, President Trump has chosen to weaponize the tensions through his rhetoric”. They denounced the deployment of more than 60,000 National Guard members in two dozen US states against anti-racism protesters.