The latest on the police shooting of Daunte Wright

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani, Mike Hayes and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 7:31 p.m. ET, April 15, 2021
10 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
1:31 p.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Officer who shot Daunte Wright resigns from police department

From CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus and Kara Devlin

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott told CNN that officer Kim Potter has resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

Potter is accused of killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright in what the police chief described as an accidental shooting. She had been with the police department for 26 years.

In a letter to Elliott, acting City Manager Reggie Edwards and Police Chief Tim Gannon, Potter wrote that she “loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability.”

1:32 p.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Minnesota governor will leave curfew up to local jurisdictions to determine 

From CNN’s Amanda Watts 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said his state is going through a “challenging time.”

“Next week's verdict will be an inflection point for not only Minnesota, certainly not just Minneapolis, St. Paul and in the surrounding area, but for our entire country," the governor said.

The governor held a short Q&A while touring a Covid-19 vaccination site, but he said the pain across the state goes hand in hand. 

“Trying to separate the pain that's in our community…. specifically for our communities of color, and our Black community very specifically, there is anguish, there is the belief, they're not being heard,” he said. 

Addressing the protests that took place last night, Walz said the state will not issue a curfew, but will leave that up to local jurisdictions. “I want to be very clear, taking a step of a curfew is a pretty big one, and I want local law enforcement, local officials to be giving that input, before that's taken." 

The National Guard will remain in place until the end of the trial for Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin trial, as was always the plan, he said. Chauvin is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

Last night, chemical irritants were used on the crowd. “I get it very clearly,” Walz said. “If those things are used indiscriminately, without a clear purpose, they irritate the crowd, they create the situation to be much more volatile.” 

“If they're used indiscriminately or not judiciously, they simply make the crowd angrier,” he said. “But there is a place for them.” 

Walz said he thinks they were used correctly last night.

“I would argue and make the case that last night, the protection of life, the protection of property, and the clear, thoughtful use of how these were deployed in a limited manner made sense," the governor said.

Walz said there were four minor injuries last night.

1:23 p.m. ET, April 13, 2021

SOON: Daunte Wright's family holds a news conference with the family of George Floyd

Attorney Ben Crump, co-counsel Jeff Storms, and the families of Daunte Wright and George Floyd will hold a news conference soon.

Floyd was killed in May 2020 after Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, placed his knee on Floyd's neck while he pleaded, "I can't breathe." Chauvin — who is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — is currently on trial. The 12th day of testimony began this morning.

Wright was killed Sunday during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota — which is about 10 miles away from where Chauvin's trial is playing out.

On Monday, Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon said a portion of body-worn camera footage worn by the officer led him to believe the shooting was accidental and that the officer's actions before the shooting were consistent with the department's training on Tasers.

However, Wright’s family is not “prepared to say that that was an accident,” Storms told CNN earlier.

“To have the department come out and just chalk this up to being an accident is by no means proper or enough. There were a number of intentional events that led to their son being dead and we need to find out exactly why each one of those intentional acts happened,” Storms said this morning.
1:15 p.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Vice President Harris: "Law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability"

From CNN's Jasmine Wright

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the police shooting of Daunte Wright on Tuesday, saying that “law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability.”

“He should be alive today. And to his family and loved ones, you must know that the President, and then I, grieve with you as the nation grieves his loss,” she said at the top of her remarks for a roundtable on the Black women’s Maternal Health.

“Our nation needs justice and healing and law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability,” Harris continued. “At the same time, we know that folks will keep dying if we don't fully address racial injustice and inequities in our country from implicit bias to broken systems.”

Wright was shot and killed by a police officer Sunday during a routine traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

The shooting happened about 10 miles from where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the killing of another Black man, George Floyd.

11:10 a.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Obamas: "Our hearts are heavy over yet another shooting of a Black man" at the hands of police

From CNN's Dan Merica

Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/Getty Images
Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/Getty Images

Michelle Obama and Barack Obama released a statement Tuesday on the killing of Daunte Wright by police in Minneapolis. 

"Our hearts are heavy over yet another shooting of a Black man, Daunte Wright, at the hands of police. The fact that this could happen even as the city of Minneapolis is going through the trial of Derek Chauvin and reliving the heart-wrenching murder of George Floyd indicates not just how important it is to conduct a full and transparent investigation, but also just how badly we need to reimagine policing and public safety in this country," they said in the statement. 
10:01 a.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Daunte Wright's mom: "It should have never, ever escalated the way it did"

From CNN’s Carma Hassan

Good Morning America
Good Morning America

Daunte Wright’s parents spoke to "Good Morning America" about their son’s killing, saying police have not given them very much information at all.

Katie Wright said her son was afraid of the police and she could hear the fear in his voice when she last spoke to him.

The situation “should have never, ever escalated the way it did,” Katie Wright said.

Aubrey Wright said he doesn’t accept the police chief’s explanation that his son’s killing was an accidental shooting.

“I cannot accept that. I lost my son. He’s never coming back. I can’t accept that, a mistake, that doesn’t even sound right. You know, this officer has been on the force for 26 plus, 26 years. I can’t accept that,” Aubrey Wright said.

Katie Wright said she wants to see Officer Kim Potter “held accountable for everything that she’s taken from us.”

The mother also said she appreciates the protesters’ support but wants protests to be peaceful.

“I want to say thank you so much for the support and standing by us and making sure that my son’s name has been heard and asking for justice and asking for that, we get everything that need out of this and making sure that my son’s name doesn’t get swept under the rug and forgot about,” she said.

Family attorney Ben Crump said Potter was a training officer, so “it’s not about training, it’s about implicit bias.”

“It’s about giving the same respect and consideration to people of color that we give to White American citizens,” Crump said.

Katie Wright described her son as her baby who had a “smile that would light up the room.”

“My son was an amazing, loving kid. He had a big heart. He loved basketball. He had a 2-year-old son that’s not going to be able to play basketball with him,” she said.

9:33 a.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Daunte Wright’s family is not “prepared to say that that was an accident,” their attorney says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Daunte Wright’s family is not “prepared to say that that was an accident,” their attorney Jeffrey Storms told CNN.

“To have the department come out and just chalk this up to being an accident is by no means proper or enough. There were a number of intentional events that led to their son being dead and we need to find out exactly why each one of those intentional acts happened,” Storms said Tuesday.

Some more background: Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon said the portion of body-worn camera footage released Monday led him to believe the shooting was accidental and that the officer's actions before the shooting were consistent with the department's training on Tasers.

“Grabbing your side arm that you've likely deployed thousands — if not tens of thousands — of times is an intentional act. A side arm feels different than a Taser. It looks different than a Taser. Requires different pressure in order to deploy it. So we're going to very much be looking into all of those intentional acts that it took for this officer to squeeze the trigger and kill their son,” Storms explained.

He added that there will likely be some announcements from the Wright family regarding officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot the 20-year-old.

“They want accountability. And they want justice. And they want answers.”

8:43 a.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Minnesota police group: "No conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete"

From CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association released a statement from its executive director, Brian Peters, regarding the killing of Daunte Wright, urging the public not to jump to conclusions and for protests to be peaceful.

“The tragic chain of events that resulted in the loss of life is weighing on all of us. Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will gather the needed facts for the investigation, and no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete,” the statement said.

“We’re disappointed in recent comments about this incident from political leaders that fuel anger and hostility towards all law enforcement. We echo the many calls for protests to remain peaceful” the statement continues.

The organization says it is the "largest association representing rank and file municipal police officers, county deputy sheriffs and peace officers employed in Minnesota."

8:45 a.m. ET, April 13, 2021

Brooklyn Center mayor says city still determining what actions to take against officer who shot Wright

From CNN’s Carma Hassan

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, left, looks on during a press conference on Monday, April 12.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, left, looks on during a press conference on Monday, April 12. Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Mayor Mike Elliott said on CBS this morning that they are determining what actions to take after Officer Kim Potter killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright in what the Brooklyn Center police chief described as an accidental shooting

“If you kill someone in any other line of work, you are at the very least going to lose your job,” Elliott said. 

Elliott said he spoke to Wright’s father, and justice for the Wright family looks like “full accountability under the law” with the officer going “through the legal system to determine guilt or innocence.”

After a second night of protests, the mayor encouraged people to stay home, but said the city will “protect people’s rights to gather peacefully.”