Daunte Wright

Even as it reels from the continuing trial of Derek Chauvin, Minneapolis is again mourning the death of a Black man killed by the police. On Sunday, a 20-year-old father, Daunte Wright, was pulled over in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of the city. When police reportedly tried to arrest him for an outstanding warrant, he sought to reenter his vehicle. One of the officers, Kim Potter, shouted “Taser, Taser, Taser!” and then fired one round into Wright’s body. The officer has since resigned and will be charged with manslaughter.

When Brooklyn Center police fatally shot Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021, he was "on the run" from law enforcement for committing aggravated robbery.

At this point, the police killings of Black men in the US have tended to produce a sickening cycle of familiarity, from the infrequency with which officers are held accountable to the angry protests that follow. Journalism too often perpetuates different aspects of that cycle, which can extend from a detail like the kind of photo used in conjunction with a story (a mug shot, as opposed to a family photo) to putting negative details into the public record about the victims — who are no longer alive to respond to them.

We will never hear the last of these names. Eric Garner. Alton Sterling. Michael Brown. George Floyd. Rashad Brooks.

And now Daunte Wright.

We will never hear the last of them because there will always be more. And because certain people are invested in forcing us to hear about them.

But what they demand we hear isn’t the truth.

Is it a tragedy that Daunte Wright is dead? Of course it is. Should he have been shot dead on Sunday by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer? Why, no, he shouldn’t have been.

The former Minnesota police officer who was captured on camera fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop was arrested in connection with Wright's death, authorities said Wednesday.

Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was taken into custody about 11:30 a.m. at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, officials said. She will be charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with Wright's death, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced.

The former officer who killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright was taken into custody and will be charged with second-degree manslaughter, a day after she resigned from the Brooklyn Center police department.

In an email, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput confirmed plans to charge former officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the police force. He said the charges would be filed later Wednesday.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison under Minnesota law.

Local prosecutors in Minnesota on Wednesday are expected to charge former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, as civil unrest has persisted for three consecutive nights, with demonstrations spilling into Minneapolis.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput is expected to announce the second-degree manslaughter charge later Wednesday. Orput did not immediately return a voicemail left by Fox News on Wednesday.

A Minnesota prosecutor could decide as early as Wednesday whether to charge a police officer who authorities say shot and killed a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb after a traffic stop -- a shooting that has sparked three nights of protests.

“The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the city’s police chief said Monday… Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as ‘an accidental discharge.’” (AP News)

Both sides condemn the shooting: