The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black male, claimed that she mistook her firearm for her taser during a traffic stop on Sunday. Mayor Mike Elliott joined Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police at a press conference where the arresting officer's body camera video of who fired the deadly shot was released.
Chief says the officer who shot Daunte Wright mistook her firearm
As shown in the video, three officers responded to the traffic stop and asked Wright to exit the vehicle. One of the officers started handcuffing him as soon as he does. When a third officer confronted Wright and the other officer, a fight ensued. The third responding officer took out her gun after Wright wrestled himself back into his vehicle, repeatedly saying, "taze him."
According to Gannon, the shot was fired accidentally, resulting in Wright's "tragic death." The officer is now on administrative leave as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) looks into the case, The Hill reported.
The vehicle was initially stopped for expired plates, but the police then noticed the air fresheners dangling from the mirror, which violated a city ordinance. Officers then ran Wright's name and discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest.
Gannon mentioned that while the case is still underway, he has very little knowledge about it. He urged locals to demonstrate peacefully and not to damage local businesses on purpose. "Right now, our hearts are aching. We're in a lot of pain. And we understand that this couldn't have occurred at a bad time," Elliott added, referring to Derek Chauvin's concurrent prosecution after George Floyd's death in May 2020.
After Chauvin knelt on his neck during a failed detention, Floyd's death was one of the catalyzing incidents of the Black Lives Matter riots in the summer of 2020. Floyd's death exposed the structural injustice present in U.S. police, as per The Hill.
Several law enforcement units, including the Minnesota National Guard, have been mobilized to Minneapolis for possible crowd control. Following Sunday evening's protests, some of those workers will be deployed to Brooklyn Center. As a result, law enforcement officers used tear gas and flashbangs. Elliott also imposed a 10 P.M. curfew, which ended at 6 A.M. Monday.
Police Clash with Protesters in Brooklyn Center Over Officer-Involved Shooting
Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not a handgun
@YouTube
According to Sky News, it's hard to believe it happened in Minneapolis amid such a stressful period for the city. It was painful to watch the police bodycam video released shortly after Wright's murder.
The 20-year-old can be seen trying to get back inside his car when he was shot by an officer who seemed to yell in shock.
Yet another unfortunate death results from a routine traffic halt. Few may have predicted that yet another senseless death would stoke the violence at law enforcement hands before the Chauvin verdict.
Protests and violence exploded in Brooklyn Center, a suburb north of Minneapolis, in scenes all too familiar for this Minnesota city. Protesters were dispersed by tear gas, and the National Guard was called on to help.
A curfew remained in effect throughout the night, but more broken-up stores, emptied racks, and looters unfolded when dawn broke. The courtroom, which is just 10 miles away, is now guarded by tight guards for Chauvin's trial, in which he is charged with Floyd's murder and manslaughter.
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Biden says there is no justification for looting in Minneapolis
Meanwhile, after black man Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer who mistook her gun for a taser, President Joe Biden said Monday that there was no reason for Minneapolis's violence. In the wake of Wright's death on Sunday, Biden told reporters in the Oval Office that there was "absolutely no justification for violence."
"It's understandable to protest peacefully. And the truth is that we do know that the black community's rage, suffering, and trauma in that atmosphere is real, extreme, and consequential," Biden said. However, brutality is not justified.
Biden's words echoed what he said during the campaign. The president has admitted to watching the 'fairly graphic' body camera video of Wright's shooting, as per Daily Mail.
