And the loss of our co-worker Kimberly Potter is also terrible for what she's going through as well. Three of four seconds went by. Shortly after Wrights death, the Brooklyn Center Police Department released video of how the traffic stop unfolded. Michelle Filkins cleans up and lights candles at the Daunte Wright memorial after guilty verdicts were announced against former police officer Kimberly Potter on December 23, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. A GoFundMe page for a memorial fund for Wright has so far raised over $560,000 as of Wednesday morning. ", Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama issued a statement Tuesday, saying they "empathize with the pain that Black mothers, fathers, and children are feeling after yet another senseless tragedy. Daunte Wright was working on 'straightening his life out' for his son, his family told Insider. April 13, 2021 11:52 AM PT. [158], Several other policing changes were made outside of the U.S. state of Minnesota in response to Wright's death. The police chief said Potter can be heard in the video warning Daunte Wright and her fellow officers that she will be deploying her Taser. Daunte Demetrius Wright was a 20-year-old living in Minneapolis, having recently moved there from Chicago. Police said Monday that Wright had warrants out for his arrest and was stopped because he had expired plates. At the same time, we know that folks will keep dying if we don't fully address racial injustice and inequities in our country, from implicit bias to broken systems. [155] In September 2021, Brooklyn Center officials announced a new policy to cite and release criminal offenders for misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges rather than take people into immediate custody. ", I miss him so much already, and it's onlybeen a day, Katie Wright said at Monday's vigil. BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. Daunte Wright was a family man, doting on his namesake 2-year-old son and always given to laughter. Law enforcement in Brooklyn Center established a heavily fortified barrier area and periodically clashed with demonstrators over several days. [10][11][12][13], At the time of the shooting, Kimberly Ann Potter, a White woman from Champlin, Minnesota (born June 18, 1972), was a 48-year-old police officer in the Brooklyn Center Police Department, and a mother of two sons. [1][14][15][16][17] She had worked for the department since 1995, shortly after finishing Saint Mary's University of Minnesota a year prior in 1994. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott has said he "fully support[s] releasing the officer of her duties.". But the 20-year-old was shot to death by police Sunday afternoon during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn . [136][137] Following the verdict, Potter was taken into custody and transferred to the state's Women's Correctional Facility in Shakopee. "But it doesnt -- will not justify violence and/or looting. [16][30][59] In order to avoid conflicts of interest, although the incident took place in Hennepin County, it was reviewed by the Washington County Attorney's Office per an agreement with metropolitan counties to handle officer-involved shootings. Appearing on Good Morning America alongside her husband, Daunte's father Aubrey, Katie was asked to walk viewers through what happened on Sunday. [49] After the crowd moved to outside a police precinct, the police announced that the gathering was an unlawful assembly, and threatened arrest for anyone who did not leave. "However, the officer drew their handgun instead of their Taser," Gannon told reporters. Daunte Wright has been remembered by friends as upbeat and gregarious, someone who loved to play basketball and was a supportive father to his son, Daunte Jr., who was a year old when Mr. Wright . Ex-officer Kim Potter wouldn't have been convicted in Daunte Wright's fatal shooting years ago, legal experts say, An attorney for the city said in a statement the city and its insurer agreed to pay the $3.25 million in exchange for a release of the City, its employees, and Kim Potter from any claims or actions stemming from Mr. Wrights death.. ", Next thing she recalled, "They hung up the phone. Aubrey recalled the moment he learned about what happened to his son. "She pointed the phone toward the driver's seat, and my son was laying there, unresponsive. Governor Peggy Flanagan said, "As a child advocate, I am grappling with the stark reality: Minnesota is a place where it is not safe to be Black. He was my baby. [121], Wright's funeral was held in Minneapolis on April 22, 2021. This photo provided by Ben Crump Law, PLLC. The passengers in the other vehicle were not injured, according to Gannon. [161], A broad public safety and police reform plan put forward by Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot in the aftermath of Wright's death became a source of political controversy as it ultimately failed to be enacted into law. Wrights shooting happened amid the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. On February 18, 2022, she was sentenced to sixteen months in prison, with credit for time served. But he was so much more, his mother stressed. Just 10 miles away in Minneapolis, the murder trial of former officer Derek Chauvin is underway for the death of George Floyd last year. She said he told her that police had pulled him over due to air fresheners hanging in his rear view mirror. Wright. The officer -- identified by authorities as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department -- intended to deploy her Taser instead of her gun when she "accidentally" shot Daunte Wright, Gannon said. [15] Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said in a tweet at 10:00p.m. on April 11, "I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Crime. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Potter said she meant to use her service Taser, shouting "Taser! "I know my son was scared. ", Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Tuesday that Daunte Wright "should be alive. BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. Daunte Wright was a family man, doting on his namesake 2-year-old son and always given to laughter. If Potter is convicted of killing Daunte, LeMay said, 'at least his parents will get . ", This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 15:03. [65] According to The Independent, Potter fled her home for safety reasons after her address was leaked on social media. Holy sh*t! [59][60] Potter was placed on administrative leave by the Brooklyn Center police pending further investigation. [153] In both cases, the officers shouted "Taser" before firing. [56], The NAACP released a statement saying "Whether it be carelessness and negligence, or a blatant modern-day lynching, the result is the same. [142] Despite initially arguing that the case had such factors which would justify a longer sentence, the prosecution stated in court on the day of the sentencing that the typical sentence would be appropriate. ABC News' Alexandra Faul, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Will Gretsky, Will McDuffie, Molly Nagle, Stephanie Ramos and Matt Stone contributed to this report. We had our hearts pulled out of our chests. ", She added, "He liked sports, just kind of goofing around and he was very funny.". The mother of Daunte Wright's son has filed a lawsuit against the family and lawyer Ben Crump over a $1m GoFundMe fundraiser. Facebook Daunte Wright. "[98], Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said at an April 12 press conference, "I have watched the video myself, and there is nothing I can say to lessen the pain of Mr. Wright's family, friends loved ones of that feeling of loss they must have. [127] Erin Eldridge, an assistant attorney general who also participated in the Chauvin trial, joined Frank. "[140], Potter was sentenced to two years in prison, serving sixteen months with eight months of supervised release. There is no true justice for the Wrights because Daunte is never coming home, co-counsel Jeff Storms said in the statement. "But I don't know why and it should have never escalated the way it did. And I'm just so messed up about it because I feel like they stole my son's dad from him. [29] Potter then discharged her firearm, instead of her Taser, a single time using her right hand, and subsequently said, "Oh shit, I just shot him. Daunte Wright (credit: The Wright Family) The victim's mother, Katie Wright, spoke to a crowd gathered at the scene of the incident Sunday evening. Katie Wright said she got a call at 1:47 p.m. Sunday from her son while he was in the car with a girl getting pulled over by police "the worst day of my life," she said. "He just had his whole life taken away from him. Daunte Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter "murdered my son," adding: "Today the justice system murdered him all over again." She also accused the judge of being taken in by "white woman's tears" after Potter cried during her pre-sentencing statement. A demonstrator holds up a portrait of Daunte Wright outside the Hennepin County Government Center during the sentencing hearing for former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter on February 18 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kelly Bryant, Daunte Wright's aunt, has started a GoFundMe page to cover her nephew's funeral costs. via Facebook . He worked in retail and fast-food jobs to support his . After a brief struggle with officers, Potter shot Wright in the chest once at close range. Earlier Monday at a press conference, the Brooklyn Center Police Department released body camera footage of the fatal encounter. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Daunte Wright is seen here in an undated file photo. A day after Daunte Wright, 20, was shot dead during a Sunday afternoon traffic stop, family and friends remembered him as someone who enjoyed every joke, every laugh, every lively moment he created. [21][154], The killing of Daunte Wright led to several changes in policing policies in Brooklyn Center and elsewhere. Daunte Wright's family mourns a young man killed by police. "[118], The evening of April 11, 2021, mourners and protesters held an evening vigil for Wright near the Brooklyn Center location were he was killed. "[58] On April 13, Gannon announced his resignation, alongside that of Potter. Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday. 0:30. For a long time after Wright died, his . Daunte Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told ABC News that her son had called her during the traffic stop. The mother of Daunte Wright, a Black man who died on Sunday after being shot by a police officer, has spoken out about her son's death. "He is fatherless," she said of Wright's son. Another shows Wright, wearing a COVID-19 face mask and his son wearing a bib with the inscription . [54][55][19], The Hennepin County medical examiner's office released a report on April 12 that determined the manner of death to be homicide and concluded that Wright had "died of a gunshot wound of the chest. [162], Footage from Kimberly Potter's body camera of her holding a firearm during the arrest of Daunte Wright, April 11, 2021, Location of the incident in Brooklyn Center, Raw footage of the shooting from Potter's body camera, spread to cities across the United States, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, List of killings by law enforcement officers in Minnesota, "Police Officer Who Shot and Killed Daunte Wright Was Training Others", "BCA Identifies Officer in Brooklyn Center Shooting Incident", "Daunte Wright: Doting dad, ballplayer, slain by police", "Officer Who Fatally Shot Daunte Wright With 'Accidental Discharge' Is Identified", "Daunte Wright's death proves a more interracial America can't protect us", "Driving While Black is still a death sentence", "Daunte Wright's family gathers in Minneapolis for funeral: Recap", "Let's have a cringey talk about multiracial identity, from "Ginny & Georgia" to Harry and Meghan", Minnesota police officer who shot Daunte Wright apparently meant to use Taser but fired gun, police chief says, "Daunte Wright called his mother right before he was shot. "I want to say thank you so much for the support and standing by us," Katie Wright said, "and making sure that my son's name doesn't get swept under the rug. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is standing . Rupert conducted one of the corporate prayers during the vigil, where she called for peace as well comfort for the family of Daunte Wright. ", "How a veteran officer could have mistaken a Glock for a Taser in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright", "Kimberly Potter trial: Emotions high as video of Wright killing plays in court", "Minn. police officer who shot Daunte Wright apparently meant to use Taser but accidentally fired gun, police chief says", "Kimberly Potter defense rests; closing arguments set for Monday", "One dead in police shooting in Brooklyn Center; tear gas deployed to clear protesters", "Protesters Clash With Police In Brooklyn Center After Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting", "Second night of demonstrations follow Daunte Wright shooting, Brooklyn Center officer identified", "Daunte Wright: Who was the 20-year-old Black man shot dead by police in Minneapolis suburb? His rear view mirror long time after Wright died, his face mask and his son wearing a with... Service Taser, shouting `` Taser his rear view mirror was held in Minneapolis, having recently moved from. 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