WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) released the following statement:
“Yesterday, our community suffered another horrific tragedy when Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic and bench warrant stop in Brooklyn Center, just next door to the district I represent in Congress.
At a press conference today, the Brooklyn Center Police Chief asserted that his officer had confused her gun for her Taser, and fired the fatal shot by mistake – which appears to be corroborated by body cam footage. I’m as horrified as I am incredulous that such a mistake is even possible, and this news comes as little comfort to a community that has lived in fear for far too long.
Indeed, former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial is underway just ten miles south of Brooklyn Center at the Hennepin County Courthouse. While the circumstances are distinct, the outcomes were the same. The deaths of Daunte Wright, George Floyd, Philando Castille, Jamar Clark, and far too many others – for generations – begs the question: What will we do to stop this from happening, and do we have the will to do it?
I join my fellow elected official and community leaders in calling for mourners and protestors to do so peacefully. But we’ve been mistaking quiet for peace for far too long, and real peace requires real justice. That means justice in policing, in education, in housing, and in opportunity. Until then, the absence of justice for some only means insecurity for all.”