An activist paces in front of officers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department after an officer-involved killing of Daunte Wright, 20, following a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, U.S., April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn.聽 鈥� The fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man in a Minneapolis suburb appeared to be an 鈥渁ccidental discharge鈥� by an officer who drew her gun instead of a Taser during a struggle at a traffic stop, the city鈥檚 police chief said on Monday.
The shooting on Sunday of Daunte Wright triggered unrest in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, with police firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters demonstrating against the latest in a string of U.S. police killings of Black men.
On Monday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz set a curfew for the counties that include Minneapolis and St. Paul from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, in a state already facing heightened security during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former white Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told a news briefing on Monday that a routine traffic stop, triggered by an expired car registration, escalated into a deadly shooting when officers ran a check on Wright and found an outstanding warrant for him.
Police video footage presented at the briefing showed an officer trying to handcuff Wright next to the car, before he breaks free and gets back inside the car. At that point, a second officer yells, 鈥淭aser, Taser, Taser,鈥� before firing a single shot from her handgun, according to the recording.
鈥淗oly shit, I just shot him,鈥� the policewoman is heard to shout as the car rolls away.
鈥淭his appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers鈥� reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright,鈥� Gannon said, adding that the investigation was in its early stages and based on evidence reviewed by the police.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said the shooting 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 have happened at a worse time鈥� with the trial of Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd鈥檚 neck for more than nine minutes, entering its 11th day on Monday. The mayor called for the officer, who has not been identified, to be fired.
Floyd鈥檚 death sparked global protests last year, prompting calls for police reforms and an end to racial discrimination.
The killing in Brooklyn Center, like several recent high-profile shootings, including the 2016 death of Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota, grew out of a traffic stop, a tactic that many activists, civil rights groups and political leaders say is a form of harassment of communities of color.
Terri Nelson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, pointed to a Hennepin County Public Defenders Office report which found that 54% of drivers stopped for minor equipment violations between January and September in 2018 in Minneapolis were Black, compared with 19% of the city鈥檚 population.
鈥淭hese are highly discretionary and when you have that discretion, either implicitly or explicitly police biases come into the picture,鈥� Nelson said.
BIDEN URGES INVESTIGATION
Wright鈥檚 mother, Katie Wright, told reporters on Sunday she had received a call from her son telling her that police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror, which is illegal in Minnesota. She could hear police tell her son to get out of the vehicle, she said.
The police chief said 鈥渁 hanging item from the rear-view mirror鈥� was discovered when police pulled Wright over.
Wright鈥檚 father, Aubrey, told the Washington Post that his son was on his way to get his car washed before the encounter with police. He said Daunte had dropped out of high school a few years earlier due to a learning disability and had been working various jobs to help support his 2-year-old son.
President Joe Biden urged a 鈥渇ull-blown investigation鈥� into Wright鈥檚 death and called on protesters in Minnesota to be peaceful. He condemned violence and looting, pockets of which were reported in Brooklyn Center overnight.
鈥淚t is really a tragic thing that happened, but I think we鈥檝e got to wait and see what the investigation shows,鈥� Biden told reporters at the White House.
Governor Walz, a Democrat, said he was going to push the state鈥檚 legislature to hold hearings to consider policing reforms that have been adopted in other states that are supported by law enforcement and 鈥渨ould reduce the chance of a routine traffic stop escalating to a loss of life.鈥�
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family with the city of Minneapolis, said he was also representing the Wrights.
鈥淒aunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us 鈥� not just the whitest among us,鈥� Crump said in a statement. 鈥淎s Minneapolis and the rest of the country continue to deal with the tragic killing of George Floyd, now we must also mourn the loss of this young man and father.鈥�