Breaking Down the Daunte Wright Case
- Wolfpak Press
- May 5, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: May 7, 2021
By: Ciaren Rounds
*Trigger warning: mention of police violence/graphic imagery*
Disclaimer: The details of the case mentioned below have been reported to the public; the case specifics, witness statements, and evidence have been carefully collected and analyzed.
In the midst of the emotional George Floyd trial, a shocking story was released to the public of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota - just miles away - which would quickly spread to the ears of everyone across the United States. On April 11, 2021, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot during a routine police traffic stop.
Wright was pulled over for expired license plate tags. Police also informed Wright that his rearview mirror’s air freshener was a violation of Minnesota law. Daunte was asked to step out of his vehicle, with a warrant for his arrest. Slammed against the car, he was in the process of being handcuffed by one of the three police officers present. While being told the reason for his arrest, Daunte had his registration seized from his hands by police officer Kim Potter. Wright then pulled away from the officers and slid back into his car, where the officers struggled to get a hold of him once again. Potter yelled, “Taser! Taser! Taser!” at Daunte in hopes for him to abide. Ruling 304.4 of the Brooklyn Center Police Manual states “A verbal warning of the intended use of the TASER device should precede its application.”
In the bodycam footage released to the public, Officer Potter reaches to her right side and grabs her “taser”. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released a criminal complaint document which states,
“SSA McGinnis later collected and reviewed the layout of the defendant’s duty belt. SSA McGinnis observed that the defendant’s handgun is holstered on the right side of the belt and her Taser is holstered on the left side of the belt. Both grips/handles of the defendant’s Taser and handgun face the defendant’s rear, and the Taser is yellow with a black grip. SSA McGinnis noted the defendant’s Taser is set in a straight-draw position, meaning the defendant would have to use her left hand to draw the Taser out of its holster” (Law and Crime).
When Officer Potter pulls her hand up from her holster, it is clearly depicted in the footage that a gun is held in her hand, rather than a bright yellow taser. It states in the Brooklyn Center Police Manual under rule 304.3 that “All TASER devices shall be clearly and distinctly marked to differentiate them from the duty weapon and any other device.”
So, let’s review some facts here. First of all, the taser is held on the left side of the holster sitting on the waist of all officers in the Brooklyn Center Police Department, which would only be able to be seized from the left hand of the police officer. Secondly, the handgun and the taser are significantly different in appearance - so the police officers should not mistake the two. And last but not least, in the Brooklyn Center Police Manual under rule 304.9, “Personnel who are authorized to carry the TASER device shall be permitted to do so only after successfully completing the initial department-approved training. Any personnel who have not carried the TASER device as a part of their assignment for a period of one year or more shall be recertified by the department-approved TASER device instructor prior to again carrying or using the device. Proficiency training for personnel who are authorized to carry TASER devices should occur every year. A reassessment of an officer's knowledge and/or practical skill may be required at any time if deemed appropriate by the Training Sergeant. All training and proficiency for TASER devices will be documented in the officer's training file.” This information clearly states that each officer has been trained on how to properly use a taser and how to properly distinguish a taser from a gun.
After withdrawing her handgun, Officer Potter fires her gun at Daunte, shooting him in the chest. The body camera shows Daunte pulling the car away from the police officers, the three police officers look to each other, with Officer Potter uttering “I shot him.” Daunte would then drive down the road, to which he would crash about 470 feet away from the gunshot, into another car. On the autopsy of Daunte Wright, it was pronounced that the cause of death was, indeed, the single gunshot. As you can imagine, the release of this story triggered a large uproar. With George Floyd’s case being tried in court at the time, everyone’s emotions were heightened in the community. Many protesters of the Black Lives Matter Movement, a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people, went to the Brooklyn Center Police Department building gathering in outrage of Daunte Wright’s murder.
This is an incredibly horrific story, one of which has happened many different times before to Black individuals. If you are wanting to support Daunte Wright and BLM, listed below are multiple sources containing ways to do so. There are also petitions needing to be signed- it only takes a couple of minutes. This is also a time to educate yourself. If you were unaware of what happened to Daunte Wright, educating yourself on racism and understanding what the black community goes through on a day-to-day basis is a crucial action you must take. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”. Let those words sink in, and stay educated.
Support for Racial Justice Organizations in Minnesota: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/supportminnesota
Help to support The Daunte Wright Memorial: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dauntewright
Petitions for BLM: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
More Minnesota resources: Minnesota Resources
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