The mayor of the Minnesota town where a 20-year-old black man was recently shot and killed while in police custody says he doesn’t believe police always need to carry weapons.
“I don’t believe that officers need to necessarily have weapons every time they’re making a traffic stop,” Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Mayor Mike Elliott said during a press conference Tuesday in response to the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Sunday.
The mayor of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, suggests officers don’t need to be armed for every traffic stop or “engaged in situations that don’t necessarily call for weapons.”
“I don’t believe that officers need to necessarily have weapons every time they’re making a traffic stop.” pic.twitter.com/cl9H5nYbil
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 13, 2021
OFFICER WHO SHOT DAUNTE WRIGHT RESIGNS, POLICE CHIEF FOLLOWS
Body camera footage shows a struggle between Wright and police officers as he is being arrested, and Wright at one point attempts to flee in his car as an officer yells, “Taser! Taser!” moments before Wright is shot with a handgun.
“Holy s—. I shot him,” the officer, who has been identified as 26-year department veteran Kim Potter, can be heard saying in the video, and police say she mistook her Taser for her service weapon.
Potter resigned from the police department on Tuesday, along with Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.
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Black Lives Matter protesters rioted in the streets of Minneapolis over the past couple days, using Wright’s death as a rallying cry in their efforts to defund police departments and change policing in response to perceived police brutality.
“Today I’m thinking about Daunte Wright and his family — and the pain, anger, and trauma that Black America experiences every day,” President Joe Biden tweeted Tuesday. “While we await a full investigation, we know what we need to do to move forward: rebuild trust and ensure accountability so no one is above the law.”
Today I’m thinking about Daunte Wright and his family — and the pain, anger, and trauma that Black America experiences every day. While we await a full investigation, we know what we need to do to move forward: rebuild trust and ensure accountability so no one is above the law.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2021
