Downtown Brooklyn, Minnesota, has agreed to pay a $ 3.2 million settlement to the family of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in April 2021 near Minneapolis. The officer said she intended to fire her electric shock instead.
The agreement, announced on Tuesday by Mr Wright’s legal team, will be finalized once an agreement is reached on “non-monetary” measures, including training for city police. Lawyers said Tuesday they expect the agreement to include training for the Brooklyn Center police department on topics including staff intervention, implicit bias, de-escalation and how to deal with mental health crises.
As part of the agreement, St. Thomas University will provide the police department with free training on cultural knowledge and implicit bias.
Katie and Aubrey Wright, Mr Wright’s parents, said in a statement Tuesday that they hoped Brooklyn Center residents felt more secure “because of the changes the city needs to make to resolve our claims.”
“Nothing can explain or fill the void in our lives without Daunte or our prolonged grief over the senseless way he died,” Mr Wright’s parents said. “But in his name, we will move forward, and it was important to us that his loss be used for a positive change in the community, not just for our family’s financial settlement.
The shooting happened during the trial of Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of killing George Floyd, a black man whose death sparked global protests against police violence. Protests also took place at the Brooklyn Center after the assassination of Mr. Wright.
Mr. Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was driving to a car wash in April 2021 when he was stopped by two police officers at the Brooklyn Center, Kimberly Potter and Anthony Lucky, whom Mrs. Potter was training at the time. Officer Lucky began tracking Mr. Wright’s white Buick because he said he saw the car use the wrong turn signal. The car also had an expired registration sticker and an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, which is against the law in many states.
Police stopped Mr Wright after checking his name in a police database and finding that he had an arrest warrant after missing a court date related to allegations that he had an illegal weapon and had escaped from police officers.
Mr. Wright got out of the car at the request of Officer Lucky, but he twisted and tried to get back in the driver’s seat while Officer Lucky tried to handcuff him, a video from the body camera showed. A moment later, Mrs. Potter shouted that she would use her stun gun against Mr. Wright, but instead drew her Glock, issued by the department, and shot him.
Mrs. Potter, who is white, resigned two days after Mr Wright’s fatal shooting and was sentenced to two years in prison in February. Her sentence is much lower than the standard of about seven years for manslaughter, but a judge said she was acquitted because Mrs. Potter wanted to fire her electric shock. Mr Wright’s relatives at the time expressed outrage at what they considered lenient.
Jason Heavley, a lawyer representing the city, confirmed the agreement and said in an email that the city “also agreed to non-monetary terms related to policies, procedures, training, a public safety resolution and the Downt Wright Memorial.” He said the city and its insurer, the Minnesota City Insurance Trust, “believe that resolving this issue early will allow the family to begin the healing process and enable the city to rebuild relations between its police department and the community.” ”
Ms Potter’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Antonio Romanucci, a lawyer for Mr Wright’s family, said the family hoped the change in police at the Brooklyn Center would “create important improvements in the community in the name of Downt”.
Jeff Storms, another lawyer for Mr Wright’s family, said in a statement Tuesday that the financial agreement “could not come close to compensating the family for their loss, but the city’s comparative costs and commitment reflect a commitment to responsibility for it’s a small community. “
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed to the report.
Add Comment