Minneapolis police fatally shoot man during traffic stop, chief to release body cam footage

#Minneapolis police fatally shot a man during a traffic stop #Wednesday evening, the latest police killing in the city since #George #Floyd’s death rocked the nation in #May.

#Police #Chief #Medaria #Arradondo said in a press conference that the man, who has not yet been identified and was described as a felony suspect, fired first and that he intends to release body cam footage from the shooting.

“#Initial witness statements indicate that the subject involved in this felony stop fired first at #Minneapolis police officers who then exchanged gunfire with the suspect,” #Arradondo said.

“MPD officers were unharmed and an adult female was a passenger in this subject vehicle was unharmed as well,” he added.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

#No further details were provided about the incident, including the race of those involved. #Arradondo said more information will be released later this week, including the identities of the officers, but that in the meantime footage of the shooting will be made public #Thursday to provide transparency over the shooting.

“I want the community to be able to see what occurred and I think that that is part of us again moving forward and wanting to make sure we get the facts out there,” he said.

The #Minnesota #Bureau of #Criminal #Apprehension is currently investigating and collecting “critical evidence” at the scene, the chief said.

#Protesters were later seen congregating near the scene of the shooting, throwing snowballs and chanting at police officers in the area.

#Crowd pushes ##Minneapolis police cruiser away using snowballs following the killing of a motorist near 36th and #Cedar.

(@JohnScollins) pic.twitter.com/dRTFnMmxCf

— #This #Is #What’s #Trending #Now (@TrendingThisIs) #December 31, 2020

The demonstrations followed those earlier this year after #Floyd was killed when an officer pinned him down by his neck for nearly nine minutes. #Four officers involved in the killing were later fired and charged.

“#As chief, I recognize the trauma that our city has been under, and we want to do everything we can to maintain the peace,” #Arradondo said. “#Our city has gone through too much. #We need to keep our officers safe, we need to keep our community safe, and I tell you, we need to preserve that crime scene.”

#Mayor #Jacob #Frey#Jacob #FreyMinneapolis police fatally shoot man during traffic stop, chief to release body cam footage #Minneapolis vows to ramp up police misconduct investigations #Minneapolis #City #Council approves police budget cuts, staffing levels unchanged MORE (D) in a statement posted to #Facebook recognized the killings in the city in the past year and vowed “complete transparency.”

“We know a life has been cut short tonight and that trust between communities of color and law enforcement is fragile. #Rebuilding that trust will depend on complete transparency. I am working closely with #Chief #Arradondo to gather all the facts surrounding what happened tonight and will be relaying that information, in coordination with #State partners, to community as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We must all be committed to getting the facts, pursuing justice, and keeping the peace.”