Minneapolis police release bodycam footage of fatal shooting of Black man
'Why are we here?' asks Dolal Idd's dad, Bayle Gelle. 'Because why were they shooting? Because of color.'
The Minneapolis Police Department has released body camera footage capturing Wednesday night’s shooting of a Black man after a traffic stop, the first police killing since the death of George Floyd in May.
The man, 23-year-old Dolal Idd, was reportedly a suspect in a felony and had been stopped by police when police claim he opened fire on the officers, who shot back, killing him.
In the graphic footage, Minneapolis police are seen cornering Idd at a Holiday gas station. The man is seen faintly through the glass window before the window flies outward as officers fire their weapons.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Idd’s family saw the body camera footage first, before it was released to the public less than 24 hours after the shooting.
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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND MAY BE TRIGGERING
At a press conference Thursday, Arradondo said the traffic stop was executed by the MPD’s community response team, which conducts drug investigations and gun crimes.
“Our officers … from our community response team were conducting an investigation based on a weapons investigation, and that resulted in a traffic stop at the 36th and Cedar Avenue Holiday gas station,” he said.
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Idd’s father, Bayle Gelle, has asked the gas station to release its surveillance video. He said that Minneapolis police has provided few details about the incident.
“He was just sitting in the car, and bullets were shot at him, and no reason,” Gelle said, according to a CBS News report. “We want to know why my sweet son gets shot and killed.”
“Why are we here?” Gelle asks aloud. “Because why were they shooting? Because of color. He is a Black man.”
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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting, and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
The midwestern city became a hotbed of unrest after four police officers kneeled on George Floyd on May 25 nearly a mile from where Idd was shot to death.
All four Minneapolis Police officers in the Floyd case — Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao — were fired and face second-degree murder charges or aiding and abetting. Their trial is expected to start in March but may be moved back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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