Daunte Wright is a 20-year-old Black man who was shot and killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota by police during a traffic stop on Sunday, April 11th, 2021.
Daunte’s mother, Katie Wright, revealed to the press exactly why her son was pulled over before he was fatally shot. “He told her police pulled him over for air fresheners hanging in the mirror, she told reporters.” ABC News would add that cops later learned that Daunte allegedly had an outstanding warrant.
“The officer shooting in Brooklyn Center today is tragic. We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and those peaceful protesters are not dealt with force,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott later said on Twitter.
Katie would also admit that she heard a cop tell Daunte to “put the phone down and get out of the car” before he was shot. After he hung up, his girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat of the car, would soon call her crying and showing Daunte’s lifeless body in the driver’s seat. The girlfriend’s name is yet to come to light.
According to the police account, “officers determined that the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant. At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle. One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.”
Wright died at the scene. A female passenger in the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries when the vehicle crashed, police said.
Public mourners included Wright’s family and friends who gathered, wept, and consoled each other alongside protesters who carried “Black Lives Matter” flags, jumped atop police cars, confronted officers, and walked peacefully in columns with their hands held up.
On one street, “Justice for Daunte Wright” was written in multi-colored chalk.
