Brooklyn Center officials ponder curfew with Potter verdict

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – City officials in Brooklyn Center are debating whether a curfew is needed when a verdict is reached in the trial of Kimberly Potter, the police officer charged with manslaughter in the death last spring of Daunte Wright.

Council members last week postponed to Monday a decision on a proposed emergency ordinance that would allow the city manager to establish a curfew.

To grant that authority, the council vote must be unanimous.

Some members expressed uncertainty about how to balance the exercise of free speech by possible protesters with public safety and the protection of businesses against vandalism. Others worry that preparing for a possible curfew suggest that city officials expect civil unrest in the wake of the Potter verdict.