BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors expect to decide on Wednesday whether to charge a white former police officer who fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, sparking nights of protests and tension during the nearby murder trial of the ex-officer charged with the murder of George Floyd.
Police officer Kim Potter at Brooklyn Center and Police Chief Tim Gannon stepped down on Tuesday, two days after Potter shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Gannon has said he believed Potter accidentally grabbed her gun when she tried to pull her Taser out.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said at a press conference that the city was on track to fire Potter, a 26-year veteran, when she resigned. Elliott said he hoped her resignation would “bring some peace to the community,” but that he would continue to work toward “full accountability under the law.”
Washington County attorney Pete Orput told WCCO-AM that he had received information about the case from state investigators and hoped to sue on Wednesday. Orput did not respond to a message from The Associated Press. While the shooting took place in Hennepin County, prosecutors referred the case to nearby Washington County – a Minneapolis-area practice attorney hired last year to handle police cases involving deadly force.
“We must ensure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that. His family deserves that, ”said Elliott.
But police and protesters faced each other again after nightfall Tuesday, with hundreds of protesters gathering again in the heavily guarded Brooklyn Center police station, now surrounded by concrete barriers and a tall metal fence, where police in riot gear and soldiers of the National Guard kept watch.
About 90 minutes before a 10 p.m. curfew, state police announced through a loudspeaker that the rally had been declared illegal and ordered the crowd to disperse. That quickly sparked clashes, with protesters dropping fireworks at the station and throwing objects at the police, launching strobes and gas grenades and then marching in line to push back the crowd.
“You are hereby ordered to disperse,” the authorities announced, warning that anyone who did not leave would be arrested. State police said the dispersal order came before curfew as protesters tried to tear down the fence and throw stones at the police. The number of protesters dropped rapidly over the next hour, until only a few remained. Police also ordered all media outlets to leave the scene.
Gannon has said he believed Potter accidentally grabbed her gun when she went looking for her Taser. But protesters and Wright’s relatives say the shooting shows how the justice system is being tilted against black people, noting that Wright was detained for an expired car registration and ultimately ended up dead.
In Brooklyn Center, a suburb just north of Minneapolis, the racial demographics have shifted dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of the residents are black, Asian or Spanish.
Elliott said he had no information about the racial diversity of the police force, but that “there are very few people of color in our department.”
After he stopped Wright for the expired license plates, police tried to arrest him on the basis of an outstanding warrant. He was ordered not to appear in court on charges of fleeing from officers and possessing a weapon without a license during a meeting with Minneapolis police in June.
CCTV footage of the body released Monday shows Wright grappling with the police when Potter shouts, “I’ll give you Tase! I’ll be your Tase! Taser! Taser! Taser! She draws her gun after the man breaks away from the police and gets back into the car.
After firing a single shot with her pistol, the car speeds away, and Potter says, “Holy (expletive)! I shot him.”
Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.
Within hours, the protests began.
In her one paragraph letter of resignation, Potter said, “I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my colleague. officers if I resign immediately. “
Wright’s father, Aubrey Wright, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he rejected the statement that Potter mistook her gun for her Taser.
‘I lost my son. He will never come back. I cannot accept that. An error? That doesn’t even sound good. This officer has been with the police for 26 years. I can’t accept that, ”he said.
Ben Crump, the Wright family’s attorney, spoke outside Minneapolis courthouse where fired police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial in Floyd’s deathCrump likened Wright’s death to that of Floyd, who was pinned down by police when they tried to arrest him for allegedly passing a fake $ 20 in a neighborhood market in May last year.
Daunte Wright “posed no threat to them,” Crump said. Was it the best decision? No. But young people don’t always make the best decisions. As his mother said, he was scared. “
Associated Press Writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Tim Sullivan at Brooklyn Center contributed to this report.
Mohamed Ibrahim is a member of the Corps for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on hidden issues.
Find AP’s full coverage of Daunte Wright’s death at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright