Minneapolis Police late Thursday released body-camera footage from a traffic stop that saw a man get shot and killed by the officials. This was the city’s first killing since the ill-fated death of George Floyd back in May 2020.
The shooting promoted public anger, which soon turned into protests. Reportedly, in order to halt the spread of the protests, the Minneapolis police department was quick in releasing the footage.
The victim, who was identified as Dolal Idd, was a suspect in a felony and was stopped by police at a traffic stop on Wednesday.
According to media reports, initial witness statements and police say that Idd, 23, was the first to fire and was shot dead by the police in response.
The footage, which is available online, shows the police blocking Idd’s car on the city’s south side. The police, in the video, can be heard saying, ” Stop your car, hands up, hands up.” And it was not long when bullets pierced Idd’s windshield and ended in killing him.
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Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo suggested: “When I viewed the video that everyone else is viewing – and certainly the real-time slow-down version – it appears the individual inside the vehicle fired his weapon at the officers first.”
Idd’s father Bayle Gelle said that he was killed because he was a black man. In an interview to CBS news, Gelle said: “He was just sitting in the car, and bullets were shot at him, and no reason. Why are we here?… Because of colour. He is a black man. We want to know why my sweet son gets shot and killed.”
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is currently investigating the incident.