The police officer who shot a black man after a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb has been identified as a veteran of 26 years.
Kim Potter shot Daunte Wright on Sunday, on the outskirts of the same city where George Floyd was killed last year.
Police chiefs believe she accidentally used her gun instead of a Taser, with the officer recorded on body-cam saying “Holy s***, I just shot him” as Mr Wright managed to drive off.
The shooting sparked a second evening of unrest on Monday when several hundred defied a curfew and gathered at the Brooklyn Center police station chanting the 20-year-old’s name.
People gathered outside Brooklyn Center police department
Police fired gas canisters and flash-bang grenades after objects were thrown
Officers in riot gear fired a small number of gas canisters and flash-bang grenades after some demonstrators threw bottles and other objects.
“Move back!” police ordered. “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” they chanted back.
National Guard troops had been expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night in case the situation escalated.
Authorities said Mr Wright was pulled over for having an expired registration and that police tried to arrest him after discovering he had an outstanding warrant.
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Moment officer ‘accidentally’ shoots Daunte Wright
Video shows a scuffle after he tries to avoid being handcuffed and gets back in his car – it’s then that Kim Potter is heard shouting “Taser” several times before firing her handgun.
Mr Wright managed to drive several blocks before crashing and died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.
Kim Potter is on administrative leave and Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon released the body-cam footage on Monday, telling reporters he believed the shooting was a mistake.
“This appears to me from what I viewed and the officer’s reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr Wright,” he said.
Daunte Wright’s mother said her heart was ‘broken in a thousand pieces’. Pic: AP
His family have rejected that suggestion and his half-brother, Dallas Wright, told a vigil on Monday: “My brother lost his life because they were trigger happy.”
His mother Katie Wright said: “My heart is broken in a thousand pieces… I miss him so much, and it’s only been a day.
“He was my life, he was my son and I can never get that back. Because of a mistake? Because of an accident?”
Brooklyn Center mayor Mike Elliot has called the shooting “deeply tragic” and wants the officer to be dismissed.
Protesters at Monday’s demonstration held pictures of the 20-year-old
It comes as tensions in Minneapolis remain high as the trial over the death of George Floyd takes place 10 miles away, with police officer Derek Chauvin accused of murder.
The lawyer who helped win a $27m civil settlement for the Floyd family said he was now representing the Wright family.
“Daunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us – not just the whitest among us,” said Ben Crump in a statement.
Mr Wright’s father, Aubrey, told the Washington Post his son had dropped out of high school due to a learning disability and was working several jobs to support his two-year-old son.
President Joe Biden has called or a “full-blown investigation” and urged people to remain peaceful.
Dont
‘t let the “media” twist the truth by engineering the dialog. These are NOT “protests”, they are RIOTS !
Nobody can guess the personal stress encountered by the cops in these situations. But seems to me that ‘what the hell happened’ applies here. This ‘veteran’ cop confuses a taser with a Glock? Typically the taser is a bright plastic color on the opposite side of the firearm on their belts, intentionally that way so that the cop can instantly see what they are about to fire.
Same ol’ story. If the man did not have a warrant for his arrest, he would not have been asked to get out of the car. Had the man not fought the cops, and tried to escape, he would be alive today. He is to blame for his own death. The police do not make these people criminals. The criminals do that to themselves. I am not saying all criminals should be shot. I am saying the criminals should make better choices. Just like the criminals who think robbing a shoe store, or a liquor store is not a protest. It is a crime. Does any law abiding citizen think black criminals should not be held to the same laws as the rest of us? Should black criminals not be held accountable just because they are black? The answer is no. Yet here we are.
It’s called protect and serve who did she protect who did she serve she should be fired plain and simple and at least a year for her so called accidental mistake to ponder because she won’t get more than that
Why people always support the guilty justice is to support the truth no protest for the police who was kill on the highway by a black man its time to call everyone racist when a black man die when fighting the police let Justice be done the news needs to report the truth and not twist it parents needs to teach their children to respect the law of the land
Why were they dancing in the streets after looting a Dollar store, what were they celebrating? If the guy didn’t resist arrest, he’d still be alive.
This young man likely was uneducated and illiterate. There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest because he was waving a gun around last summer and he had scared those aroundhim to the point they called the police. The police officer as are all officers in the Minneapolis area was on edge and made a huge mistake. What does the looting and destruction of businesses have to do with justice? Nothing. This happens every time the black community feels they have been wronged. Step one is loot the local Walmart. Step two is come up with some stupid slogan that is meaningless. Step three is completely disregard the fact the young man refused to comply with the police and moved to flee. The cop will be fired and investigated to the tiniest degree. The local race baiters will demand she be charged with murder and the city will give the family millions. There is nothing just, correct or positive about any of this insanity. If the black family wasn’t a thing of the past and if our public school actually educated people these things would be rare. Too may ifs and no one seems interested in getting at the actual causes of our national decline across the board. I’m retired law enforcement and wouldn’t have taken the shot even with a taser. I would have advised the Mother to contact me personally so a private and non-violent arrest could be made outside the public eye. Mistakes all around.
Amazing how fast these onlookers get those posters printed isn’t it? It’s almost as though they are pre-printed….ready to go…just add the name.
They are ilfed and Devil led and Demon poset
My same thoughts about the posters!
How much money did it cost globalist puppet $oro$ to hire all these rioters, you know rioters don’t give a schitt about these dead people so globalist puppet $oro$ has to pay them to come out and riot .
globalist puppet $oro$ only hires libby snow flake sheep to preach globalist agendas .
The warrant for his arrest was for attempted robbery with a gun held to a women’s head taking her rent money after her had stayed overnight IN HER HOUSE as I am assuming a guest. The back story is never told so as to make a martyr out of just another THUG. Momma can cry her eyes out, I don’t care, she is the one that raised this waste of oxygen. The only one I feel compassion for is the officer, their life will be hell, but they did the world a favor.