On April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old African-American man, was shot by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop.
According to Brooklyn Center police, Potter shot him accidentally; she allegedly intended to use her taser but discharged her firearm instead, striking Wright with one shot. After being shot, he drove several blocks before crashing his vehicle into another and hitting a cement barrier. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner determined the manner of death to be homicide.
The shooting sparked protests and demonstrations in Brooklyn Center, leading to a citywide curfew on April 11. Riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and other munitions into crowds of protestors. Demonstrations have also occurred in Minneapolis-St. Paul and in cities across the United States.
The incident, which occurred on April 11, 2021, happened as the trial of Derek Chauvin—the police officer who on May 25, 2020, knelt on George Floyd’s neck and back for several minutes as he died—was underway in nearby Minneapolis. Wright’s death occurred approximately ten miles (16 kilometers) from the 38th and Chicago Avenue street intersection where George Floyd died. According to The New York Times, the shooting of Wright “injected more frustration and anxiety into the Twin Cities region,” heightening tension and outrage.
Wright’s killing was the sixth by Brooklyn Center police officers since 2012, and all but one were of persons of color. At least 207 people have been killed by law enforcement in Minnesota since 2000, according to a local newspaper database
