THE SHOOTING OF DAUNTE WRIGHT
On April 11, a Minnesota police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright. The shooting happened just 10 miles away from where Derek Chauvin is on trial for the killing of George Floyd.
According to the Brooklyn Center police department, Wright was pulled over for expired registration tags. As they pulled him over, they discovered that he had a warrant for his arrest. As police tried to arrest Wright, he stepped back into his car and shuffled with police.
The body camera footage shows officer Potter yelling “Taser” for the other officer to clear as he struggled with Wright. As Wright pulled off, Officer Potter says, “I just shot him.” It’s reported that officer Potter had the intention to deploy her tase, but instead, she withdrew her gun. Wright pulled off only to travel a couple of blocks before striking another vehicle. Medical professionals pronounced him dead at the scene.
Daunte Wright’s mother, Ms. Wright, was on the phone with her son as he got pulled over. Daunte Wright told his mother he was being pulled over for having air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror. Ms. Wright said her son dropped the phone after she heard scuffling and an officer telling him not to run. When she called back, a woman in the car at the time of the shooting said to her that he got shot.
Hours later, protestors gathered around Brooklyn Center Police Department demanding justice for Daunte Wright. After days of protesting, police fired projectiles into the crowd after concluding the protests were unlawful.
“We want justice for Daunte,” Ms. Wright said. “We don’t want it to be about all this violence.”
Officer Potter has since resigned from the police department. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says that Potter has been arrested and taken into custody on the following Wednesday after the shooting. She faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 17.
