Neighborhood concerns in Brooklyn Center as Potter trial approaches

For Brooklyn Center resident Veronica Hughes, staying in her apartment across the street from the police department on North Humboldt Avenue is no longer an option.

Hughes has called her apartment home for nearly six years — she moved out on Sunday. Hughes didn’t want to leave, but after living through the city’s unrest in April, Hughes felt like it wasn’t safe anymore.

“It was ridiculous,” Hughes said about the unrest. “I don’t want to live like that and I don’t want my kids to live like ever again."

The Brooklyn Center Police Department was the focus of protests and destructive demonstrations following the shooting death of Daunte Wright.

The building on North Humboldt Avenue remains surrounded by fencing and barriers.

During an April traffic stop, Wright was shot by former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter. Tuesday, jury selection begins in the trial against Potter who is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter.

Brooklyn Center city leaders are in the midst of deciding whether they plan to set a citywide curfew. During a city council meeting last week, discussions about a curfew for the day of the verdict — with an option for the city manager to extend it for four days — were met with both support and concern. Some worried that preparing for a possible curfew implies city officials are expecting civil unrest.

A curfew resolution would need full council approval. City leaders plan to discuss a curfew more during a work session on Monday.