The parents of the 20-year-old black man shot dead by a veteran police officer during a traffic stop in Minneapolis say they are refusing to accept that the cop accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser.
Daunte Wright was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags.
Police said a struggle broke out when they tried to arrest Wright after running his name and realizing he had an outstanding warrant.
Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the warrant but court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court last month on misdemeanor charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police last June.
His aunt has said the warrant was for marijuana possession.
The city’s police chief on Monday described the shooting as ‘an accidental discharge’ and said the veteran officer had mistakenly fired her gun instead of a taser.
In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Wright’s parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son’s death was a mistake.
‘I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he’s never coming back. I can’t accept a mistake, that doesn’t even sound right,’ Aubrey said.
‘This officer has been on the force for 26 years.’
Daunte Wright’s parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son’s death was a mistake after police revealed Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser
Daunte Wright (left with his son) was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter (right) on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags
Wright’s mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for ‘everything she’s taken from us’.
His aunt, Naisha Wright, had earlier called for Potter to be jailed for ‘not knowing the difference between a fully loaded pistol and a taser’.
‘Accident? An accident? No, come on now! I own a 20,000 volt taser. They don’t feel nothing like a gun,’ she told CNN. ‘My family’s blood is on their hands.’
Naisha has denied that her nephew’s license plate tag was expired, as police have said. She also said a misdemeanor warrant that was out for her nephew was ‘just for some weed’.
Wright’s shooting death has sparked violent protests and unrest in the city that is already on edge because of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.
Protests also broke out overnight in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland and Seattle.
The unrest continued for a second night just hours after the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled Wright’s death as a homicide and said the cause was a gunshot wound to the chest.
It came after Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon held a tense press conference on Monday afternoon where he said ‘an accidental discharge’ appeared to be the cause of Wright’s death.
Wright was shot dead on Sunday afternoon after he and his girlfriend were pulled over during a traffic stop for what police say was an expired car registration.
The officers then learned Wright, who has a toddler son, had the outstanding warrant against him.
Gannon released footage of the incident from Potter’s bodycam that showed her and two other officers approaching Wright’s car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop.
The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.
A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.
Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright’s car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop
Potter could be heard shouting ‘Taser!’ several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, she can be heard saying: ‘I shot him’. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath
‘I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!’ Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.
Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: ‘Holy sh*t. I shot him’.
Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
‘This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,’ Gannon said.
‘As I watch the video and listen to the officer’s commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet.
‘For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you’re right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left. This is done purposefully, and it’s trained.’
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright’s death.
Potter has been placed on administrative duty.
Brooklyn City Mayor Mike Elliott said during the press conference that the officer should be fired.
‘My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,’ Elliott said, adding he fully supported relieving the officer of her duties.
His comments were in contrast to City Manager Curt Boganey, who was in charge of the police department, after he said he wanted due process to play out before passing judgment on the officer’s actions.
Boganey was fired by the town’s City Council in an emergency meeting on Monday.
Elliott now oversees the police department.
Police clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as ‘an accidental discharge.’ It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant
A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday
Protesters throw fireworks towards police as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department a day after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Monday
A Dollar Tree store that was looted has its sprinklers turned on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul. But hundreds of protesters defied that order and were seen gathered in the city Monday evening
WHO IS VETERAN COP KIM POTTER?
Kimberly Potter, 48, has worked with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 25 years.
She was training a new officer on Sunday when the fatal shooting occurred.
Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune.
She has served on the city’s negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home.
Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident ‘to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,’ according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers’ actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed.
Potter has been a union president for her department’s officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association.
Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported.
She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018.
Brian Peters, head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said Potter was working Sunday as a field training officer, training a new officer.
‘She’s just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It’s completely devastating,’ he said. ‘In a very tense moment, she made a mistake. It’s not her character.’
Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune.
She has served on the city’s negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home.
Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident ‘to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,’ according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers’ actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed.
Potter has been a union president for her department’s officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association.
Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported.
She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family, is also representing the Wrights.
In a tweet, Crump said he believed that Potter ‘knew exactly what she was doing’ in a previous case which he said she told officers how to ‘obscure accountability’.
He wrote about the previous incident involving Dimock-Heisler and Potter, saying she ‘taught officers who fatally shot Kobe Dimock-Heisler how to protect themselves & obscure accountability’.
Crump, quoting a Hennepin County Attorney’s Office report, wrote that Potter had previously instructed two police officers in the previous case to ‘exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn camera, and to not talk to eаch other.
‘Of course Kim Potter knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to obscure the truth. In that instance, her actions were clearly intentional,’ he wrote.
Police clear a strip mall of demonstrators after issuing orders to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday, April 12
Protesters are arrested as law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021. Protests continue in the wake of the fatal shooting of Duante Wright
Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021
Protesters advance towards officers using umbrellas as shields outside Brooklyn Center Police Department
Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall on Monday hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
A drum beat incessantly and the crowd broke into frequent chants of ‘Daunte Wright!’
When the protesters wouldn’t disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.
A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.
‘Move back!’ the police chanted. ‘Hands up! Don’t shoot!’ the crowd chanted back.
Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after Sunday night violence.
The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.
A curfew was in place, but the protesters were determined to ignore it.
The police repeatedly tried to drive protesters away from the police headquarters, only for the crowd to scatter, then regroup.
By late Monday, only a few dozen protesters remained.
At a press conference at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said that 40 people had been arrested on Monday night at the Brooklyn Center protest, with some people being booked into the Hennepin County jail, while some were cited and released.
He added several officers suffered minor injuries from debris.
Wright’s mother Katie Wright has previously described her son calling her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror.
It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror.
Katie Wright (left), the mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was shot and killed yesterday by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop
Pictured: A man blows smoke in the face of an officer outside Brooklyn Center Police Station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave
Riot police stand in the middle of a crowd of protesters demonstrating after the death of Wright, outside the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave
Tension was high as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear faced off with protesters gathered outside of the police station
Police officers stand guard as they face off with demonstrators outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021
Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul
She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him.
Describing the call, Wright’s mother said: ‘I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information.
‘Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, ‘Put the phone down and get out of the car.’ And Wright said ‘why’. He said, ‘We’ll explain to you when you get out of the car.”
‘A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he’d been shot and she put it on the driver’s side, and he was laying there lifeless,’ Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon.
‘I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, “Daunte, don’t run,”‘ she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver’s seat.
Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright’s mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son.
‘All the violence, if it keeps going, it’s only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,’ she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center.
‘We need to make sure it’s about him and not about smashing police cars, because that’s not going to bring my son back.’
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement.
‘We should listen to Dante’s mom who is calling for peace and calm,’ Biden said.
Biden then stressed that there is ‘absolutely no justification for violence’ in protest or otherwise.
‘Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence…’
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright’s death.
‘Prayers are not enough,’ she tweeted. ‘Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte’s family needs to know why their child is dead—they deserve answers.’
Squad member Rashida Tlaib calls for the ABOLISHMENT of police saying they are ‘intentionally racist’ and ‘cannot be reformed’ – before describing death of Daunte Wright as ‘government-funded murder’
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called for the abolishment of police following the fatal shooting of unarmed black man Daunte Wright.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called for the abolishment of police following the fatal shooting of unarmed black man Daunte Wright
The Michigan Rep. made the radical declaration on Twitter Monday – one day after Wright was shot dead at a traffic stop in Minnesota when a white cop reached for her gun instead of a Taser, which has been characterized as an accident.
‘It wasn’t an accident. Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist,’ Tlaib posted to Twitter.
‘Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government-funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.’
Tlaib – who is a member of Congress’ far-left ‘Squad’ alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar – set off fierce debate with the incendiary tweet, which was ‘liked’ more than 15,000 times.
‘Sounds like a call for total anarchy. I wonder if Twitter will remove this post,’ one person stated in the replies section.
‘This isn’t racism. Everything isn’t color. The cop screwed up for sure but Daunte would likely be alive if he didn’t fight the police,’ another wrote.
A third chimed in urging Tlaib to put her money where her mouth is, and do away with her own police protection.
‘No more policing can begin when elected officials get rid of their police and security forces. We’re not doing this thing where we have no policing, but y’all are protected to the hilt,’ they tweeted.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shared Tlaib’s tweet and described it as ‘insane’.
However, there were some followers who agreed with Tlaib, saying that police agencies were beyond the point of reform.
‘I agree. I have no power, but you do. We elected you to change things. So change them,’ one voter wrote.
‘Why didn’t the police talk to him [Wright], deescalate? Why so aggressive? I’m with you,’ another concurred.