Killing Of Daunte Wright

On April 11, 2021, Minnesota police pulled over 20-year-old African American male Daunte Wright for speeding. Tragically, that traffic stop later turned into a deadly incident. 

The headlines of the news that day said “Officer Mistakes Taser for Gun.” Or “Unarmed Black Man gets Shot”. Here is a brief explanation of what we know so far.

Daunte Wright was gestured to pull over by Officer Kim Potter and in doing so Officer Potter and an officer in training came up to the car. Potter went back into her police car, ran his name, and Wright popped up on the computer as wanted. Officer Kim Potter came back to the car and told Wright he had to get out of the car for a warrant. He refused to get out of the car which is when Officer Potter pulled out what she thought was her taser but was really her service revolver. She then shot Daunte in the chest area as he took off, driving away down the street in panic. Wright was pronounced dead 5 minutes later. 

This incident sparked many more riots in Minnesota since the killing was only 3-4 blocks away from the death of George Floyd. Rioters shouted “don’t shoot” while kneeling in front of lines of police officers. This lasted over 3 days after the killing of Daunte Wright. These protests were more controlled but some still got out of hand at times. There were about 200-300 people that marched toward the Minneapolis police station. They were marching because of the situation with Daunte Wright with the belief that police need to be more accountable for their actions.

Daunte Wright was a father of a little boy whose name is not known to the public. His wife Chyna Whitaker has spoken about the situation that unfolded.

The state is pursuing the charge of third-degree murder but Officer Kim Potter is most likely going to be charged with first-degree murder. The situation has become so bad the Chief of Police Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department resigned. Officer Kim Potter also resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.