Just as the trial of officer Chauvin for the death of George Floyd gets under way in Minneapolis, a new incident shakes the city. Just as the trial of officer Chauvin for the death of George Floyd gets under way in Minneapolis, a new incident shakes the city.
Minneapolis is once again haunted by the ghosts of a year ago. Police shot and killed a 20-year-old African American man, Daunte Wright, at a checkpoint. What exactly happened is still not entirely clear, but the account that has emerged in recent hours is that the female officer who shot the young man believed she was holding a taser rather than her gun. Meanwhile, hundreds of people have taken to the streets to protest against police brutality, the mayor has imposed a curfew, and there have been a number of arrests. All this while the trial of Derek Chauvin — the officer who killed George Floyd last May — has begun in the city.
The incident took place in Brooklyn Center, around ten kilometres north of Minneapolis. Daunte Wright was with his girlfriend when, at around two in the afternoon, he was pulled over by a patrol car. According to the police's account of events, the stop was related to a traffic violation, but Wright, who had an outstanding arrest warrant, allegedly struggled free to get back into the car, despite being handcuffed. At that point, officer Kim Potter opened fire, killing the young man.
Wright's mother witnessed the scene indirectly, as she was on the phone with him at the time. According to her account, he had called her during the stop to ask for the insurance details, since the car was hers. She could hear the officer's voice over the phone ordering Wright to get out, and then the line went dead. A minute later she was on the phone with his girlfriend, who told her about the shot and that her son was lying lifeless in the car seat. According to a statement by the local police department, the officers were wearing body cameras, which will assist the investigation. The department's version of events is that it was a mistake, with officer Potter intending to stop the young man with a taser.
As soon as the news spread, hundreds of people took to the streets in the city to protest against yet another African American death at the hands of law enforcement. Demonstrators made their way to the police department headquarters, waving Black lives matter flags and throwing stones at officers who, in riot gear, responded with batons and tear gas. Dozens of arrests were made.
The clashes went on for hours, and the mayor of Brooklyn Center, Mike Elliott, asked people to stay indoors and imposed a curfew until six in the morning, while schools remained closed today.
The death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police comes in a very delicate context. Ten days ago in Minneapolis the trial of officer Derek Chauvin began, for the death that last year shook the United States and the rest of the world — that of African American George Floyd. The officer kept his knee pressed on the 46-year-old's neck for nine endless minutes, causing him to die of heart failure, as the autopsy established. Now a new incident shakes the city, while in the United States 30 African Americans have already been killed by law enforcement in 2021.