Kimberly A. Potter, 48, the senior officer who shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, has been placed on administrative leave from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
On Sunday, officers stopped Wright for a traffic violation but then learned he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The 20-year-old reportedly attempted to re-enter his vehicle, prompting an officer to fire her weapon, which struck Wright, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Brooklyn Center Police Department didn't immediately release the names of the officers involved and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota called for the officers to be made public.
On Monday, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions (BCA) announced Potter was the officer who shot Wright. She has been a member of the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, joining the force in 1995.
Along with the release of the officers' names, the ACLU of Minnesota called for the police department to release body camera footage from the incident. In a statement, the Brooklyn Center Police Department said they believed the body camera and dashboard cameras were turned on at the time of the attempted arrest and released footage on Monday.
In the video, the officer yelled, "Taser," multiple times as Wright climbed back into his vehicle and then after firing the shot, yelled, "Oh s---, I just shot him."
Based on what he saw in the video Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters he believed it was a case of "accidental discharge.
"It is my belief that the officer had the intention to employ their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said.
Wright reportedly told his mom, Katie, on the phone that he was being pulled over because of air fresheners she had hanging from his window. She said she heard the officer ask him to get out of the car and that he would explain why after the 20-year-old exited the vehicle. Then, said she heard a scuffle and someone yell, "Daunte, don't run!"
When she called back a few minutes later, she said his girlfriend, who was reportedly in the car at the time, said the 20-year-old had been shot. Officers tried life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.
"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," the ACLU of Minnesota said in a statement.
The situation with Wright was "made even worse," according to the ACLU of Minnesota, because his death comes as a jury hears a case against former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. He was seen in a viral video with his knee on Floyd's neck shortly before he was pronounced dead at the hospital in May. He's the first of four officers involved in Floyd's death to stand trial and faces up to forty years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.
Floyd's death prompted waves of protests and calls for the officers, who were fired from the police department, to be held accountable.
Protests erupted on Sunday after news of Wright's death broke and the National Guard was activated to help secure stores and contain the violence.
