Brooklyn Center Police , CD3 DFL

Mohamed Noor case raises questions about charge for Brooklyn Center officer

Question of intent is key in debate over murder vs. manslaughter

Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter made her first court appearance Thursday in the killing of Daunte Wright, facing one count of second-degree manslaughter.

Potter, wearing a plaid shirt at her hearing and seated at a conference table in attorney Earl Gray’s office, spoke only once to confirm that she could hear the judge.

When asked if court documents accurately gave Potter’s home address in Champlin, Gray responded: “Yes, unfortunately.” Potter’s family has moved out of the house, according to Champlin Police Chief Ty Schmidt, who said he plans to keep a round-the-clock police presence there. Continue reading.

Officer Kim Potter to be charged with manslaughter in Daunte Wright’s death

Kim Potter, the former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright outside Minneapolis on Sunday, will be charged with second-degree manslaughter, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput told the Star Tribune Wednesday.

Why it matters: The shooting of the 20-year-old Black man in Brooklyn Center, Minn., just ten miles from where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year, has reinvigorated Black Lives Matter protests and led to three consecutive nights of unrest.

Context: Second-degree manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, according to Minnesota law. Continue reading.

Officer Kim Potter resigns after fatally shooting Daunte Wright

Kim Potter, identified as the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a weekend traffic stop near Minneapolis, resigned from her position “effectively immediately,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said in a statement Tuesday.

Background: Potter had been with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, per the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop just before 2 p.m. Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minn.

Police said Monday that Potter had inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a Taser during the traffic stop. She was placed on administrative leave on Monday. Continue reading.

Chief: Officer meant to use Taser, not firearm, on Daunte Wright

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officer as Kimberly A. Potter, 48, who has been a police officer for 26 years. She has been put on leave.

The traffic stop that would end Daunte Wright’s life played out on a Brooklyn Center police officer’s body camera. Officers appeared to try to handcuff him; then he slipped back into the driver’s seat.

A female officer yelled, “Taser, Taser,” and then fired her gun. “Holy shit, I just shot him,” she said.

Once again, a Black man died during a police encounter. In an instant, the world’s focus on Minnesota shifted from the trial of Derek Chauvin to a new outrage that brought street protests, promises of reform, and anguish over a relentless pattern of deadly police misconduct. Continue reading.

Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: April 12, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Once again, our community is in a state of shock at the death of an unarmed black man in an encounter with law enforcement. Daunte Wright should be alive today, but instead his life was cut tragically short in a matter of seconds. My condolences and heart goes out to his family, his friends, and our entire community as we grieve over his death.

It has not even been a full year since the murder of George Floyd, and with the eyes of the world on Minnesota, another black man has been killed by a system that is not working. It is up to each of us to play a role in taking the steps necessary to achieve true accountability and reform, and to ensure that justice comes.

Rep. Phillips on the Shooting of Daunte Wright

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.

UBLC statement on killing of Daunte Wright

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – The United Black Legislative Caucus issued the following statement after the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of a Brooklyn Center Police Officer on Sunday:

“Our community has been forced to withstand unthinkable trauma over the past year, and we’re angry that another young Black man has been taken from us by law enforcement. This is unacceptable and the constant cycle of police officers killing Black Minnesotans must end. The outcome Daunte Wright faced is an outcome we – as Black parents, grandparents, siblings and other family members – constantly worry about for our loved ones and ourselves. This shouldn’t be the norm, it can’t be the norm, and as lawmakers, it’s all of our responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure it no longer is the norm.

“We need accountability and we need it now. The Minnesota House is advancing much-needed solutions to identify bad officers and keep them off the streets, strengthen community oversight, and ban white supremacists from serving as officers. Daunte Wright should still be with us. His family deserves justice, and our community deserves changes to our laws that will ensure officers can be held accountable and trust can be built within our communities and those charged to protect and serve.

POCI Caucus Statement on Shooting of Daunte Wright

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — On Sunday, police fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center. The Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement:

“Once again, a young Black man who was beloved by his family and community was killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. This painful statement could be recited by memory at this point. However, while this tragedy is distressingly familiar, we must remember that Daunte Wright was a unique human being, brimming with life and potential until it was cut short in a senseless act of violence. Daunte Wright’s life mattered.

This perpetual trauma wrought upon our Black communities is exhausting. To our community; please take time to rest and recover if you are able, these coming days will be incredibly difficult. We will need our energy and health to seek justice and maintain peace in our communities. At the Legislature we have several police accountability bills that are ready to be voted on and sent to the Governor, including the House DFL Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform budget bill which contains several critical reforms. We strongly urge our Republican colleagues to join us in creating a public safety system that will protect the lives of people like Daunte Wright.

Black Lives Matter.”

The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Esther Agbaje (59B), Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Cedrick Frazier (45A), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (Vice- Chair 62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Athena Hollins (66B), Heather Keeler (04A), Fue Lee (59A), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), John Thompson (67A), Samantha Vang (Chair, 40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53B), and Senators Bobby Joe Champion (59), Omar Fateh (62), Melisa Franzen (49), Foung Hawj (67), Mary Kunesh (41), Patricia Torres Ray (Chair, 63)

Police: Officer who shot Daunte Wright accidentally pulled gun instead of taser

The officer who fatally shot a 20-year-old Black man outside Minneapolis Sunday appeared to have inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a taser, police said.

Driving the news: “This appears to me, from what I viewed in the officer’s reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright,” Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters Monday.

The backdrop: Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed during a traffic stop just before 2 p.m. Sunday, about 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year. Continue reading.

Brooklyn Center police fatally shoot man, 20, inflaming tensions during the Derek Chauvin trial

Man, 20, killed after being pulled over for traffic violation in Brooklyn Center

A Brooklyn Center police officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon, inflaming already raw tensions between police and community members in the midst of the Derek Chauvin trial.

Relatives of Daunte Wright, 20, who is Black, told a tense crowd gathered at the scene in the northern Minneapolis suburb Sunday afternoon that Wright drove for a short distance after he was shot, crashed his car, and died at the scene.

Protesters later walked to the Brooklyn Center police headquarters near N. 67th Avenue and N. Humboldt Avenue and were locked in a standoff with police in riot gear late Sunday night. Officers repeatedly ordered the crowd of about 500 to disperse as protesters chanted Wright’s name and climbed atop the police headquarters sign, by then covered in graffiti. Police used tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets on the crowd. Continue reading.

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