The fatal shooting yesterday of Daunte Wright, a 20-year old African-American male, by a female police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota - a suburb of Minneapolis, has exacerbated tension in the Twin Cities as the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin enters its third week. Chauvin, of course, is charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd last year.
Wright was killed during a traffic stop due to an air freshener hanging in the back of his car. Making matters worse is while Wright resisted arrest the officer in question intended to pull out a taser but instead reached for her gun. Brooklyn Center PD have deemed this shooting to be accidental. Given that guns are heavier than tasers one wonders how such a mistake would be possible.
The mistaking a gun for a taser also occurred in the 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant by BART Transit Police in Oakland, California. The officer involved in that shooting was convicted of involuntary manslaughter but served less than a year in prison. While California and Minnesota law may differ, at the minimum, the officer responsible for killing Daunte Wright should spend time in prison for manslaughter.
The tension in the Twin Cities might ease if Chauvin is convicted. However, this tension could return if Chauvin is given a light sentence. If this is the case then there is a very good chance that Daunte Wright will not get justice as has been denied to so many African-Americans wantonly killed at the hands of police who effectively have a license to kill.
What is saddest of all is that there must remain a suspicion that if Wright were white the police would not have stopped him for a such a trivial matter. Alas when it comes the African-American community and the police everything is a matter of life and death.
WARNING: I have included bodycam footage of Wright's shooting. The video is very graphic!!!
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