Update 04/12/2021 2:36pm:
Recently, news and video footage surfaced of police fatally shooting a 20-year-old Black man named Daunte Wright after pulling the young man over for a traffic stop. The incident caused protests to break out in Minneapolis after the incident went down in the suburb referred to as the Brooklyn Center. Now, during a press conference, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon has issued a statement along with body camera footage related to the shooting.
While speaking to reporters during the press conference, Gannon said: “It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.” The news is alarming, as the trial for George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by police as well, is being held 10 miles south of where Wright’s life was taken.
Gannon went on to say that officers are trained to carry their firearms on the side of their body they consider to be dominant and put the taser on the other side. Because of that, Gannon said he believes “this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.” Stay tuned for more updates.
source: USA Today
Original 04/12/2021 11:14am:
Protests broke out in Minneapolis overnight after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in a suburb known as Brooklyn Center. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that he was praying for Wright’s family "as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement."
Wright's mother, Katie Wright, addressed the protests, stating, "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. 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."
Daunte's mother also revealed that she was on the phone with him when he and his girlfriend were being pulled over. Katie Wright said she heard scuffling and someone telling him, "Daunte, don’t run," before the call ended. Police say Daunte reentered his vehicle and attempted to flee after they tried to arrest him for an outstanding warrant, and they responded by firing shots, fatally hitting Daunte. His vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.
Brooklyn Center officers were reportedly wearing body cameras during the incident, and they also believe that dash cameras were activated.
Protesters began marching shortly after the news of the incident surfaced, and it was reported that about 20 businesses had been broken into at the city’s Shingle Creek shopping center. The National Guard was activated, and protesters had largely dispersed by 1:15 am on Monday (April 12).
