Updated 4/13 at 3:06 p.m. E.T.
The officer involved in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright has resigned.
Mayor Mike Elliot made the announcement in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters that he had received a letter of resignation from Officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot Wright Sunday night following a traffic stop. Police Chief Tim Gannon has also resigned, the mayor said.
“I am hoping that this will help bring some calm to the community,” Elliot said, noting that protestors had been calling for the officer to be relieved of duty. He added, however, that “ultimately, people want justice, they want full accountability under the law, and so that’s what we’re going to continue to work for.”
Elliot, the mayor of Brooklyn Center, the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was shot and killed, had said earlier Tuesday that the officer involved in the shooting should be fired.
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“We’re right now assessing what we’re going to do, what actions we’re going to take next,” Mike Elliot said in an interview with “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday, adding, “If you kill someone in any other line of work, you are at the very least going to lose your job. And so my position has been that I do believe that the officer should be fired. I do believe she should lose her job.”
The mayor’s comments came after a second night of protests following the shooting of Wright. Wright, a 20-year-old, had been fatally shot by Potter after he was pulled over Sunday night for an expired registration on his license plate. Potter allegedly had been reaching for her taser and discharged her firearm instead.
Body camera footage from Potter released on Monday revealed that at some point during the encounter, Wright had been outside of his vehicle and was in the process of being handcuffed by police when he managed to break free. As he returned to his vehicle, Potter could be heard warning him that she was ready to fire her taser before shouting “Taser! Taser! Taser!,” according to reports from CNN.” Then she fired her gun, killing Wright.
The latest incident occurs during the third week of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in the shooting death of George Floyd. Floyd’s death sparked last year’s Black Lives Matter protests around the country. Wright’s killing, in a suburb outside Minneapolis, has again placed the community on edge.
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Although Elliot had called on people to “stay home” following last night’s protests, he also said that Brooklyn Center officials would ensure people’s rights to protest peacefully. “There are a number of people who are demonstrating, and that is part of change,” he said. “But just everybody know that we’re working hard to make sure that we’re keeping the community safe, and making sure that justice is ultimately delivered.”
GO Magazine is outraged by this horrific event. Unfortunately, tragedies like these are not isolated occurrences and happen far too often. If you’d like to donate to Daunte Wright’s family, you may do so here. Rest In Peace Daunte Wright. Say His Name. Black Lives Matter.
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