Daunte Wright was a 20-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a female police officer on Sunday afternoon during a stop in a suburb of Minneapolis.
Brooklyn Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting Monday as an accidental dismissal. “He said the officer in charge was planning to fire a Taser, not a pistol.
Daunte Wright told his mother he was being pulled over because he had air fresheners in his car.
(Facebook)
On the camera footage of the fatal encounter, three officers are seen around a stationary car. When another officer tries to captivate Wright, a fight ensues.
“Taser! Taser! Taser!” one of the officers is heard screaming. Another officer fires a single shot from her gun, the car chases away and the officer hears, “Holy (explicit)! I shot him.”
According to authorities, the car was pulled over because it had a registration that had expired, and after police determined that the driver had an outstanding warrant, police said they were trying to arrest him. The driver then got back into the vehicle, and an officer shot and hit him, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before hitting another vehicle.
COMMANDED ADDRESSES DEADLY INVOLVED INVOLVED SHOOTING, SS ‘PAIN IS REAL,’ BUT NO ‘JUSTIFICATION FOR VIOLENCE’
A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Daunte’s mother, Katie Wright, said the passenger was her son’s girlfriend.
Who was Daunte Wright?
Court records show Wright did not appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and had a gun without a permit during a meeting with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police received a call about a man waving a gun that was later identified as Wright.
People come out of protest on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minn.
(AP)
Katie Wright said her son called her because he was allegedly pulled over because he hung air fresheners in his rearview mirror – a violation in Minnesota.
“All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car,” Wright said. During the call, she said she heard a struggle and then someone said ‘Daunte, do not run’ before the call ended. When she called back, her son’s girlfriend replied and said he had been shot.
Shortly after the shooting, protesters began to gather, with some jumping cars on the police. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center, where stones and other objects were thrown at officers.
MINNESOTA SPORTS TEAMS PLAY GAMES IN THE LIGHT OF DAUNTE WRIGHT SHOOTING
Wright’s father, Aubrey, told the Washington Post that his son had just asked his mother for $ 50 for a car wash and that he was on his way when he was shot.
“I know my son. He was scared. He still [had] the thoughts of a 17-year-old because we made him a baby, “Wright said. If he resists an arrest, you can pursue him. I do not understand it. ‘
Aubrey said Daunte had a 2-year-old son and dropped out of high school two years ago due to a learning disability. Daunte has since worked in retail and fast food restaurants to support his son and was planning to get his GED, Aubrey told The Post.
“He was a wonderful child,” Aubrey Wright said. “He was a normal kid. He was never in serious trouble. He enjoyed spending time with his 2-year-old son. He loved his son.”
According to court records, Daunte has already had a number of issues with the law. He was arrested in February on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances, but later released from custody.
In February 2020, Daunte was also convicted of a minor offense for disorderly conduct in connection with an event last summer. And at the end of 2019, he pleaded guilty to a minor offense for possession and sale of a small quantity of marijuana.
FOR CHAUVIN’S TRIAL BENEFIT, IT’S ALL ABOUT CREATING DOUBT
Wright’s death comes because the area was already on fire due to the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged with Floyd’s death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25 after Chauvin, who is White, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
The judge in that case on Monday refused to sequester the jury after a lawyer argued that the panel could be affected by the prospect that could happen as a result of their verdict.
Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, before the riots in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwestern border of Minneapolis, called on protesters to remain peaceful and focused on the loss of her son.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“All the violence, if it continues, it’s just about the violence. We have to talk about why my son was shot for no reason,” she told a crowd near the shooting scene. “We have to make sure it’s about him and not about smashing police cars because it’s not going to bring my son back.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.