Looks like the US police will never understand that Black lives matter, even after what the country went through following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
A white police officer has now been taken into custody for shooting a young Black motorist to death during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb.
The fatal shooting of Daunte Wright triggered three nights of protests and civil unrest.
Minnesota authorities have charged with second-degree manslaughter Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center police officer who was arrested on April 14 for killing 20-year-old Wright during an April 11 traffic stop.
The incident occurred amid the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was last year charged with murder and manslaughter in the May 2020 death of Floyd.
Potter, a 26-year veteran of the police department, resigned from her post on Tuesday after Wright’s death sparked protests. Police Chief Tim Gannon also tendered his resignation Tuesday, after telling reporters one day earlier that Potter appeared to have mistaken her gun for her Taser during the traffic stop.
Gannon has said police video shows Potter apparently drew her hand gun instead of her Taser by mistake when she opened fire on Wright, after he broke away from a fellow officer and climbed back into his car.
Wright’s family members and their lawyer have rejected that notion that an accident was to blame for Wright’s death.
The Washington County Attorney’s Office said Potter was acting as her partner’s field training officer at the time of the shooting.
“Certain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer,” Imran Ali, assistantcriminal division chief and director of the major crimes unit for the County Attorney’s Office, said in the statement.
“We will vigorously prosecute this case and intend to prov ethat Officer Potter abrogated her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm rather than her Taser,” he said. “Her action caused the unlawful killing of Mr. Wright, and she must be held accountable.”
Wright was shot on Sunday after being pulled over for an expired automobile registration, and officers discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest, according to the official police account of the confrontation.
In police video of the incident, Potter can be heardshouting, “Holy shit, I just shot him,” after she fires a singleshot that struck Wright in the chest.
To convict Potter of second-degree manslaughter under Minnesota law, prosecutors must show that she was “culpably negligent” and took an “unreasonable risk” in her actions against Wright. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Lawyer Benjamin Crump, who represents Wright’s family, stated that the charge fell short of meeting a greater need for police reform in the United States.
Crump said, “While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back. This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force. Driving while Black continues to result in a death sentence.”
Original source: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending/fatal-shooting-black-man-during-traffic-stop-sparks-protests-near-minneapolis/5DRBHRB2LNG6BJDWZIV2DOQ77Q/
Black Lives Matter: When will US police understand? was originally published on Better Life Info
Black Lives Matter: When will US police understand? was originally published on Better Life Info
Black Lives Matter: When will US police understand? was originally published on Better Life Info
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