About 40 people were arrested just north of Minneapolis in a second night of unrest over the police shooting of a black man.

Protesters in the city of Brooklyn Center defied a curfew and threw objects at police, who responded with flash grenades and tear gas.

Police said Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and died after an officer mistook her gun for a Taser during a traffic stop.

The shooting came as the high-profile George Floyd murder trial continues.

In a courtroom just a few miles away, ex-police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with murdering the African American man in May last year.

Derek Chauvin’s defence team on Monday asked for the jury members to be sequestered – separated from other people – as they might be swayed by the latest events. The judge denied the request.
The officer who shot Mr. Wright was named on Monday as Kim Potter, 48, who has worked for Brooklyn Center Police for 26 years.

Mr. Wright was pulled over on Sunday for a traffic violation, but there was a struggle when he tried to get back into his car.

After mistakenly drawing her gun, the officer said: “Holy shit, I just shot him.”

What happened overnight?
The curfew went into force at 19:00 (midnight GMT) across four counties with a huge law enforcement deployment.

In a press briefing after midnight local time, Minnesota State Patrol colonel, Matt Langer, said officers had reached out to organizers of protests to try to keep them peaceful but “unfortunately those efforts weren’t successful and the organizers weren’t able to influence the desires of the crowd”.

Col Langer said officers had been “shelled pretty significantly with objects” including fireworks.
He said protesters had pushed against the fence of the Brooklyn Center police headquarters and a decision had been made to push back the crowd.

There were “sporadic” incidents of looting in the area and in other parts of Minneapolis and neighbouring St Paul.

In response to the unrest, US President Joe Biden said peaceful protest was “understandable” but added: “I want to make it clear again: there is absolutely no justification, none, for looting.”

Shortly before midnight, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot issued a positive tweet, saying: “Our city is calm now, thank you all who came out to peacefully protest then went home.”

He also said he had spoken to Daunte Wright’s father and would “do everything to ensure justice is served”.

What happened to Daunte Wright?
Police Chief Tim Gannon gave details of the police action after officers pulled Mr. Wright over, saying he believed the shooting that followed to be “an accidental discharge”.

During a news conference on Monday, he played a short video from the body camera worn by the policewoman which shows Mr. Wright trying to get back into his car as officers attempt to handcuff him on the side of the road.

An officer can then be heard saying “Taser, Taser, Taser” – normal police procedure before firing one of the stun guns. Mr. Wright is seen to get into his car and drive away, while the same officer admits, using an expletive, to having shot him.

Fatally wounded, Mr. Wright crashed a few streets away.

“It is my belief the officer meant to deploy their Taser but shot him with a single bullet,” Chief Gannon said, adding: “There’s nothing I can say to lessen the pain.”

The officer has been placed on administrative leave – temporary leave with benefits and salary still paid.

Mayor Elliot has said she should be fired. He will make a decision on Tuesday about whether Chief Gannon will keep his job, the StarTribune reported.