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Daunte Wright’s mother honours son during protest over fatal shooting
Minneapolis faced its third night of civil unrest on Tuesday following the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright by a former police officer during a traffic stop.
Police and protesters faced off once again after nightfall, with hundreds of protesters gathering again at Brooklyn Center’s heavily guarded police headquarters.
Prosecutors are expected to decide today whether to charge the white former police officer, Kim Potter, over the death of Mr Wright, a Black man.
Both Ms Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned on Tuesday. Mr Gannon said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her pistol when she was trying to pull out her Taser.
The same day, the mother of Mr Wright delivered a striking eulogy for her child praising him as both a father and a son, and saying she had no idea how she will manage without him.
“I just need everyone to know that he is much more than this. He had a smile that was angelic,” said Katie Wright, at a vigil attended by hundreds of people.
“My heart is literally broken in 1,000 pieces. I miss him so much, and it’s only been a day.”
The tension in the city comes only a stone’s throw from the nearby murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-officer charged with killing George Floyd during an arrest last year.
Ben Crump, the Wright family’s attorney, spoke outside the Minneapolis courthouse where fired police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial in Floyd’s death.
Daunte Wright “was not a threat to them,” Mr 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.”
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
Guns and Tasers: is it hard to confuse the two, and has it happened before?
Louise Hall14 April 2021 12:00
Decision expected on charges for Kim Potter
Prosecutors expect to decide today whether to charge the white former Brooklyn Center police officer in the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, a Black man, during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb.
Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned on Tuesday, two days after Ms Potter shot Mr Wright. Mr Gannon has said he believed Ms Potter mistakenly grabbed her pistol when she was trying to pull out her Taser.
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput told WCCO-AM that he had received information on the case from state investigators and hoped to have a charging decision on Wednesday.
Decision expected on charges for cop who shot Black motorist
Prosecutors expect to decide Wednesday whether to charge the white former police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb, sparking nights of protests and raising tensions amid the nearby murder trial of the ex-officer charged with killing George Floyd
Reporting by the Associated Press
Louise Hall14 April 2021 11:42
Welcome toThe Independent’s rolling coverage of the unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright by former police officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop.
Louise Hall14 April 2021 11:29
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