Brooklyn Center Police Chief Gets Emotional Fielding Tense Questions on Daunte Wright Shooting: ‘I’m Just Trying to Be Honest’

Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department got visibly emotional as he fielded tense questions from reports on the police killing of Daunte Wright and Sunday night’s subsequent protests. 

Wright died after a police officer shot him during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb on Sunday, just 10 miles away from Derek Chauvin’s trial for the killing of George Floyd.

Gannon, along with Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, took questions from reporters on Monday, during which the chief became visibly emotional while explaining the decisions he made amid Sunday’s protests.

“Was it your decision to release tear gas and to shoot … rubber bullets at the young protesters?” asked one reporter, prompting Gannon to confirm that because he is the chief, he takes responsibility for all police action.

Another reporter asked why the lights were off in the police station while people were protesting outside, questioning why the officers would not want to see everything that was going on.

I was told the moment the lights all went down they created a certain level of mood, an agitation within the crowd,” the reporter continued. “What was your thinking? I was told that you made the ultimate call to turn all the lights off, even the street lights that was out in front of the building, to turn all of the lights off.”

Gannon explained he wanted to remove any backlighting in order to ensure that the officers at the front of the line would not become easy targets.

The chief was then questioned about his decision to release teargas into the crowd of protesters, which Gannon described as a “riot” — gaining backlash from reporters who contested the term.

Gannon did not backtrack, noting that some officers were hurt during the demonstrations, including an officer who was hit in the head with a brick.

The officer soon became emotional when a reporter asked him, “What is on your heart?” while another exclaimed, “I hope you’re not crying, Tim.”

“This is what I’m here for, ok? I’m the leader of this department, they expect me to lead — create a safe city. That’s what I’m trying to do. That’s it,” he said. “Yeah, I’m emotional. I’m just trying to be honest.”

He was then asked why protesters were still being shot with tear gas grenades even after they crossed the street as directed by law enforcement officers. Gannon said that they only responded that why after officers were “pelted with bricks or frozen cans.”

“That’s the danger of turning off lights and firing tear gas and firing rubber bullets and firing flashbang grenades at people who were just exercising their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech,” another reporter noted.

Despite the tense press conference, Gannon confirmed he would not have done anything differently on Sunday night.

Watch above, via Fox News.