Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, has resigned. According to local Minnesota outlet WCCO, the police union representing the Brooklyn Center Police Department announced Potter’s resignation on Tuesday (April 13). The 26-year veteran of the department, and former president of the union, also wrote a resignation letter addressed to the mayor and police chief.
via: CNBC
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned Tuesday, a day after revealing that Potter likely shot Wright in the mistaken belief that she was holding a Taser, and not her pistol.
Potter, who served 26 years on the Brooklyn Center PD, said she loved being a cop, but was quitting because “I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” according to a letter posted on Twitter by multiple news outlets.
Her resignation came as Vice President Kamala Harris said Wright “should be alive today” as demands grew for police reform on the heels of the latest controversial killing of a Black man by Minnesota police.
Harris also said there should be “justice and healing” for Wright’s death, and that, “Law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability.”
Former President Barack Obama said that his and Michelle Obama’s “hearts are heavy” over Wright’s shooting death.
Our hearts are heavy over yet another shooting of a Black man, Daunte Wright, at the hands of police. It’s important to conduct a full and transparent investigation, but this is also a reminder of just how badly we need to reimagine policing and public safety in this country. pic.twitter.com/sgcbRjlApr
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 13, 2021
Obama also argued that the latest death of a Black man at the hands of police underscores the need to “reimagine policing” in the United States.
This is the letter that the now-former officer submitted to the Brooklyn Center mayor, acting city manager and police chief. https://t.co/x05OlaxCaB pic.twitter.com/xPwGsBdiKf
— Mara Gottfried (@MaraGottfried) April 13, 2021
Police then moved to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court in a criminal case, where he was charged with carrying a gun without a permit, as well as with fleeing from police in June.
Video from Potter’s body camera shows that Wright twisted away and ducked into his car when another police officer was trying to handcuff him.
Potter then fired a single shot into Wright’s chest with her pistol after she repeatedly and frantically yelled “Taser!”
Chief Gannon told reporters Monday, “It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.”
Potter’s apparent confusion over what weapon she was holding has been widely criticized. Tasers are yellow colored, unlike a black pistol that Potter had in her hand, and are as a rule kept holstered on the side opposite a police officer’s dominant shooting hand.
Both precautions are designed to avoid a police officer pulling out a gun when they mean to use a Taser to force a suspect to comply with their demands or to avoid hurting someone else.
Before she resigned, Potter, who has served as president of her town’s police union, had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Gannon was replaced by Commander Tony Greuning, a 19-year Brooklyn Center PD veteran who will serve as acting chief.
Wright’s shooting was followed by protests and looting in Brooklyn Center and nearby Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Wright’s death a homicide and said he passed away from a gunshot wound to his chest.
