The community in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota is outraged following the police killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was reportedly pulled over for the air freshener hanging on his mirror. Wright was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Sunday, sparking multiple protests in Minnesota over the last two days. It has been reported that the officer who fired the fatal shots, Kim Potter, believed she was holding her taser when she shot Wright.
In the latest update from this developing case, Daunte’s parents are speaking out for the first time about the death of their son. Appearing on Good Morning America, Daunte’s parents Katie and Aubrey Wright told Robin Roberts that they to see “justice served”.
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“The police officers came back up to the window and asked Daunte to step out of the car and Daunte said, ‘For what? Am I in trouble?’” said Katie, recalling the phone call she had with her son during his traffic stop. “And the officer said, ‘We’re gonna explain that when you step out of the car’ and they asked him to put the phone down.” Daunte’s mother says she then remembers the phone being put down abruptly but she remained on the call. She heard scuffling, screaming from the woman who was in the passenger’s seat, and the officers asking for the call to be ended.
“I didn’t hear anything else,” she said. “I tried to call back three, four times and then the girl that was with him answered the phone and she said that they shot him and he was laying in the driver’s seat unresponsive. And then I heard an officer ask her to hang up the phone again.” Katie said that Daunte told her he was always afraid of the police. “I know my son was scared and he’s afraid of the police,” she added. “I don’t know why [it escalated]. It should have never, ever escalated the way it did.”
Watch the video below.
Kim Potter, the officer that fired the fatal shot, resigned from her position on Tuesday, writing in a letter that she believes her decision was made “in the best interest of the community”. Police Chief Tim Gannon has also resigned.
We will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available. Rest in peace, Daunte Wright.