Photo Credit: Joshua Rashad McFadden//New York Times
This past Sunday tragedy struck once again in Minnesota when 20-year old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by 48-year old Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop. Wright was unarmed and apparently pulled over for having expired license plates and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.
After viewing the officer’s body cam footage, Minnesota Chief of Police Tim Gannon claims that the officer who fatally shot him did so by “accident.”
“As I watched the video and listened to the officers commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,” Gannon said. “This appears to me from what I viewed and the officers reaction and distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge, that resulted in a tragic death of Mr. Wright.”
Gannon has released the official body camera footage, where viewers can hear the officer shouting “Taser! Taser! Taser!” After firing her handgun, she then gets inside her police car and can also be heard saying “Holy S**t! I shot him.”
Police Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned Tuesday morning. Gannon will now be replaced by acting chief Tony Greuning, a Brooklyn Center Police Department veteran who has served for 19 years. On Wednesday, Potter has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Potter, who served 26 years for the Brooklyn Center police force, sent in a letter of resignation stating, “I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.” Before resigning, Potter was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.Potter has been charged with second degree manslaughter.
Accident or no accident, a 20-year old father, son, brother, and friend is now dead and many want to find justice. During a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Mike Elliott said, “We want to send the message to the community that we’re taking this situation very seriously.”
Government officials such as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Former President Barack Obama have all expressed their views and concerns of the situation that has occurred.
Vice President Harris took the situation to her Twitter account where she expressed that Wright “should be alive today, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte’s family needs to know why their child is dead.”
Harris also stated, “Law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability.”
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama both said their “hearts are heavy” after hearing the news of another Black man’s life being taken away at the hands of law enforcement.
“Michelle and I grieve alongside the Wright family for their loss,” says Obama. “We empathize with the pain that Black mothers, fathers, and children are feeling after yet another senseless tragedy. We will continue to work with all fair-minded Americans to confront historical inequities and bring about nationwide changes that are so long overdue.”
Since the incident, demonstrators have gathered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota where the incident occurred. The amount of civil unrest and anger is very much similar to last years events after the murder of George Floyd. Rioters have decided to throw objects, destroy police cars, vandalize businesses and protest outside of the police department. Brooklyn Center police have also reported that the front door of the Brooklyn Center Police Department was struck by gunfire, shattering the glass.
To gain some control of the situation, Brooklyn Center police responded to rioters by dressing in riot gear, firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Videos of these events have circulated around social media the past few days.
President Biden understands the racial tension continuing to build up in Minnesota, especially with the Derek Chauvin trial currently happening, so he has called for “peace and calm” following recent events. He continues to stress that violence and looting is not the answer.
“Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in the Black community in that environment is real. It’s serious, and it’s consequential. But that does not justify violence.”
While speaking with White House reporters where he stated, “The question is was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined by a full-blown investigation. I think we’ve got to wait and see what the investigation shows.”
On Monday, President Biden expressed his thoughts and feelings on Twitter about what has occurred, and urged the need to “rebuild trust and ensure accountability so no one is above the law.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke with reporters as well and shared that the entire administration was deeply saddened by the death of Daunte Wright.
Wright’s family held a very emotional press conference on Tuesday, where they were represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump. George Floyd’s family was also in attendance to show their support. Floyd’s wife was also one of Daunte Wright’s teachers growing up.
The families believe that Officer Potter should be held accountable for her actions, mistake or not.
“I hope that since she went ahead and she resigned that they hold her at the highest because she was the law,” says Daunte’s aunt, Naisha Wright. “They murdered my nephew. My great nephew is now fatherless. Not over a mistake, over a murder.”
Attorney Ben Crump said he was really surprised when he was notified of what happened on Sunday. Another black man was killed by police, and the location is just 10 miles north of where George Floyd was killed. For something like this to happen during the Derek Chauvin trial is a complete surprise. He believed “that police would be on their best behavior, that they would exercise the greatest standard of car, that they would concentrate on de-escalation in a way they have never concentrated in America.”
Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, stated “the day my son died was the worst day of my life.” She received her last phone call from him when he was pulled over and began to assist him in getting the insurance and registration details for the vehicle before he was shot. She explained that there was a disconnection in the phone call, and when she called back she saw her son lifeless in the driver seat of the car.
“I never imagined this was what was going to happen. I just thought that he was getting arrested,” says Wright.
Daunte’s father spoke with “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, where he expressed how he could not accept any explanation of what occurred.
“I lost my son. He is never coming back. I can’t accept that. A mistake? That doesn’t even sound right.”
Another incident has occurred in America that is seen too often. The old wounds of America’s social and racial inequalities are still alive today, and despite generations of social movements rallying against a nation’s violent foundation, America has yet to fully reconcile with its racist past.
