For the sixth night in a row, since the death of Daunte Wright, the Brooklyn Center area has been put under a curfew. Tonight’s curfew is put into effect starting at 11 p.m. and goes again until 6 a.m.
Curfews have been ignored by many who have been protesting outside the Brooklyn Center Police Precinct and in response to the crowds not dispersing officers have continuously used non-lethal munitions in an attempt to break up protesters.
This led to activists speaking out against the police’s use of force in a press conference today. The Activists were joined by physicians from the University of Minnesota in Brooklyn Center.
Police and Operation Safety Net have been using tear gas, rubber bullets, and other non-lethal crowd control methods and activists are attempting to put an end to it.
Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Center for American Islamic Relations, spoke against the police and Operation Safety Net’s use of force at the conference and shared that those living in the community have suffered enough.
“This is the reality when we talk about the killing of an unarmed black man we are met with more killing and brutality and that is what we want to end,” Hussein said. “We’ve asked Governor Walz. Community leaders, community organizations have asked to end Operation Safety Net, it has not brought us safety.”
One point that the group brought up is the effects that these non-lethals, tear gas specifically, are having on those who live where these protests are happening.
“This includes people who are not participating in protests but living in the community,” one student from the University of Minnesota said. “These people, they have underlying health conditions like asthma and COPD sitting in their homes and reporting that tear gas was coming through the windows.”
Tear gas has also caused several issues with protestors present at protests throughout the last year. Erika Kaske, a third-year medical student at the University of Minnesota said that at least 30 people required emergency medical treatment in the Twin Cities after being exposed to tear gas at protests following George Floyd’s death.
Victor Ramirez says he may need surgery to repair a fracture suffered to his face caused when he was hit with a police projectile earlier this week.
“I’m not the only one that’s been hit out there, I’m not the only one going through these things out there, I’m not the only one getting tear-gassed, I’m not the only one getting shot at, I’m not the only one that might have some money problems,” he said. “Nobody pays for the medical bills, nobody pays for these people.”
CAIR-Minnesota continued to call for Governor Walz to end Operation Safety Net as they believe it has not brought safety, but instead caused more damage.
