WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT — Police released body-camera footage of the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a Black man killed during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday https://t.co/C3hNW7zLBk pic.twitter.com/Ra5fvvEJEt
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 12, 2021
Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center, Minn. police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, 20, on Sunday, has resigned.
“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” she wrote in a brief letter addressed Mayor Mike Elliott, Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards, and Police Chief Tim Gannon, as obtained by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
But it’s not like the chief can do anything about it. He also resigned.
#BREAKING: Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott says both Police Chief Tim Gannon and Police Officer Kim Potter have resigned.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) April 13, 2021
Edwards landed in his position after former City Manger Curt Boganey got fired amid the Wright controversy.
Gannon said that the police pulled over the 20-year-old Wright because of expired tags. The man’s family said it was for having an air freshener on his rearview mirror. During the incident, police noted a warrant was out for Wright’s arrest after he allegedly missed a court appearance on a gross misdemeanor for carrying a pistol without a permit and a misdemeanor for running from police.
As seen on video from Potter’s body camera, Wright lunged for the open door of his sedan after a male officer suggested he was about to resist. Potter said she would use her Taser. She instead pulled out her gun.
“Taser! Taser! Taser!” she yelled, and then shot Wright in his midsection.
“Holy shit!” she yelled as Wright drove away. “I just shot him.”
The 20-year-old crashed and nearby.
At a press conference on Monday, Gannon suggested the shooting was a mistake because Potter accidentally pulled her gun instead of her taser. This analysis has resulted in skepticism from Wright’s father.
[Image via David Ryder/Getty Images]
