Who is Tim Gannon? Brooklyn Center police chief quits over Daunte Wright shooting after refusing to resign
Just a day after he said he had no plans to give in to the mounting pressure to step down from his duties, Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police chief, has reportedly resigned on Tuesday, April 13. He was widely criticized for the department's response to the protest in the wake of the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by an officer on Sunday, April 11.
Gannon, who has been the police chief for about five years, resigned after the City Council passed a resolution on Monday, April 12, in support of relieving him. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott reportedly confirmed that Gannon resigned on Tuesday morning, April 13. Elliot also confirmed the resignation of officer Kim Potter, who fired the fatal shot. In her resignation letter, she wrote it was in the "best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately". According to the latest reports, officer Tony Gruenig, who was with the department for 19 years, was appointed acting police chief.
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Gannon's resignation
On Monday, April 12, Gannon told reporters that he was not going to step down if there were calls for his resignation and also stood by his department's response to the protests. The former police chief and the department were under fire for deploying tear gas on Sunday night amid unrest that was sparked by Wright's death. Gannon had reportedly confirmed that he wouldn't have done anything differently. In addition to that, he also faced flak after Monday's press conference when he labeled the previous night's events as a "riot".
"I was front and center at the protest, at the riot," Gannon said. When he was interrupted by people who asked him to avoid calling the looting a riot, he insisted, "it was." He then warned that any violent behavior will be met with force.
Wright was pulled over by officers on Sunday for a traffic violation. As police attempted to apprehend him, they found there was a warrant for his arrest. But as Wright tried to reenter his vehicle during the apprehension, Potter fired her weapon. Body camera footage from the shooting shows Potter repeatedly yelling, "I’ll tase you! I’ll tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!" before she fired her gun. She then told a fellow officer, "Oh, s**t, I shot him."
According to the reports, Gannon told reporters on Monday that he believed the shot was an "accidental discharge" based on what he saw in the footage. In addition to that, he said he believed the officer intended to use her taser but shot Wright with a single bullet instead. According to the latest reports, it was Elliott who was quick to call for Potter to step down. He said that the police department can't "afford to make mistakes that lead to loss of life".
Who is Tim Gannon?
After completing his college education at Mankato State University, Gannon joined the BCPD in August 1994. For the first nine years, he was a patrol officer. After this, he was promoted to patrol sergeant. According to reports, a year later, he was promoted to commander. Gannon has served in all of the department’s divisions.
Since 2015, Gannon had been serving as a police chief. “I’m very excited about the move,” he had said at the time, according to one news outlet. “I’ve been with the department since 1994, and I’ve had good experience in all the different areas and divisions that I’ve worked at. So I really feel well-prepared for this position, and we’re really going to hit the ground running. Having been involved in the department as long as I have, I know the inner workings of it, and I do want to put my own handprint on the agency moving forward."