RSN Fundraising Banner
FB Share
Email This Page
add comment
Print

Excerpt: "Police killed Daunte Wright, 20, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center Sunday afternoon. Yet another Black life was taken by those sworn to protect, and we join the community in mourning Wright's loss."

Protesters walk through clouds of tear gas as police attempt to disperse the crowd after a 7 p.m. curfew in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Monday. (photo: Evan Frost/MPR News)
Protesters walk through clouds of tear gas as police attempt to disperse the crowd after a 7 p.m. curfew in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Monday. (photo: Evan Frost/MPR News)


Statement From the ACLU of Minnesota on the Police Killing of Daunte Wright

By The ACLU of Minnesota

13 April 21

 

olice killed Daunte Wright, 20, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center Sunday afternoon. Yet another Black life was taken by those sworn to protect, and we join the community in mourning Wright’s loss.

Initial details are troubling to the ACLU of Minnesota. Wright’s mother told several news outlets that she was on the phone with her son when he was pulled over for having a dangling air freshener on his car rearview mirror. She said they asked him to get out of the car, but wouldn’t say why. Then she heard scuffling and gunshots.

Brooklyn Center Police said in a press release that they’d pulled Wright over for a traffic stop, learned he had an outstanding warrant, and that he re-entered the vehicle while they were trying to take him into custody. One officer shot Wright, whose vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. He died at the scene.

The ACLU of Minnesota calls for an immediate, transparent and independent investigation by an outside agency other than the Brooklyn Center Police or the BCA, and for the quick release of any body-cam footage. We call for the naming of all officers and agencies involved. The ACLU-MN has deep concerns that police here appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do all too often to target Black people.

While we are waiting to learn more, we must reiterate that police violence and killings of people of color must end, as must the over-policing and racial profiling that are endemic to our white supremacist system of policing.

Police shootings are always tragic, and the situation here is made even more worse by this happening during a trial seeking justice for George Floyd.

The ACLU of Minnesota is watching, and we will keep working to hold police accountable.

e-max.it: your social media marketing partner
Email This Page

 

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.

RSNRSN