What Happened
On Sunday, Duante Wright was fatally shot in the chest during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was stopped by police over expired tags, and after running his name discovered a warrant issued for his arrest after failing to appear in court over illegal possession of a firearm.
Some outlets are reporting that the traffic stop was initiated over air fresheners dangling from the rearview mirror which, is unlawful, according to Minnesota law. “A person shall not drive or operate any motor vehicle with … any objects suspended between the driver and the windshield, other than: sun visors; rearview mirrors; driver feedback and safety monitoring equipment when mounted immediately behind, slightly above, or slightly below the rearview mirror,” Minnesota’s law states.
However, at a news conference on Monday, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said that he does not know how much of a role the air fresheners played in the traffic stop. Duante Wright was pulled over for an expired tag, whereby the air fresheners were then spotted. Thereafter, the officers ran Wright’s name and found a gross misdemeanor warrant.
Tim Gannon described the shooting as “an accidental discharge.”
Update: Here is body cam footage showing #DuanteWright trying to escape an arrest & getting shot by a female officer. He ended up crashing into another occupied car & dying. The @BPPD police chief says it appears the officer meant to use a taser but accidentally used her pistol. pic.twitter.com/B0v14RHint
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
As seen in the video, after police were cuffing Wright, he attempted to escape their hold, making his way back into his vehicle.
The cop who was later identified as Kim Potter, a 26 year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, could be heard saying “”I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” After firing a single shot, as Wright’s car sped away before crashing into another occupied car, she’s heard saying “Holy Shit! I shot him.”
In the passenger seat was Wright’s girlfriend. She sustained no injuries during the shooting or crash. As Duante was getting pulled over, she had called Wright’s mother, Katie Wright. Kate said she heard someone say “Duante, don’t run” before the call ended. When she called back, Wright’s girlfriend said he had been shot.
Kim Potter has been placed on administrative leave, however Tim Gannon has not said whether or not she would be fired.
Political Consequences
From an ideological standpoint, we can see how the death of a man that illegally possessed a firearm, is easily weaponized to prove a political point. Whether from the right or left, the game is always the same.
How the left and right see. The same game is always played. Just different versions. pic.twitter.com/jOxosSkp77
— jacob @theamericanpigeon (@JacobYusufov) April 13, 2021
While BLM activists wasted no time taking to the streets to riot and loot, keyboard warriors have wasted no time taking to social media to decry systemic racism.
Some mainstream media outlets report that air fresheners are the sole reason for the shooting, which turns out to be unfounded, as the stop was over expired tags. While others acknowledge expired tags as the reason for the stop, but not without concluding their narrative:
NBC reports “Daunte Wright was stopped for expired plates, but driving while Black may have been his ‘crime’.
One bystander was not fond of the way the media obfuscates the narrative, whichever he may prefer. Here’s one man that approached CNN reporter Sara Sidner.
A protester in #BrooklynCenter curses out CNN's Sara Sidner live on air, telling her that "all the press and the extra s*it y'all do makes this worse." pic.twitter.com/FNyrhw9D99
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 13, 2021
Minneapolis issued a curfew beginning at 7pm on Monday. Rioters and looters, obviously ignored this.
Although Wright’s mother told protestors to be peaceful, they too ignored her. She said, “All the violence, if it keeps going it’s only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason. We need to make sure it’s about him and not about smashing police cars, because that’s not going to bring my son back.”
Coverage of the riots depends on where one goes to search for them.
WOW Search Results for "Riots Today" on DuckDuckGo vs Google (4/12/21) pic.twitter.com/i9ocM8jbxC
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) April 13, 2021
At one point, black rioters were looking for white people to beat.
Why do the Proud Boys behave like this? pic.twitter.com/ph6bKkBvN5
— ELIJAH SCHAFFER (@ElijahSchaffer) April 13, 2021
The narrative of white on black violence has become so politicized, we must rely on independent journalists to document the violence that is raging around the country; although, we can be sure that most will go untouched by law enforcement.
Minneapolis isn’t the only city to experience riots during this time.
In the midst of violent & destructive civil unrest in Minnesota, Portland, and Seattle
The FBI is posting headshots from an event 4 months ago to help identify senior citizens
“Pipe bomber still not found btw, but please help us arrest this old guy!”
Tax dollars well spent https://t.co/Qi3tmtUKPC
— ELIJAH SCHAFFER (@ElijahSchaffer) April 13, 2021
Promised update on unrest in Portland 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/shjvuc4jB5
— ELIJAH SCHAFFER (@ElijahSchaffer) April 13, 2021
#BLM protests and riots have been announced for Brooklyn Center, Minn., Seattle, New York City, Portland, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Omaha, Kansas City, Washington D.C., Fort Lee, N.J., Hoover, Alab., Fort Wayne, Ind.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
"loot and burn everything"#BLM pic.twitter.com/mHzPGBcqRP
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
Large #antifa mob marches in DC for #DuanteWright. They’re carrying umbrellas to shield their comrades while committing crimes & to use them as weapons when needed. #BLM pic.twitter.com/PAfymqEAjK
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 13, 2021
Why am i not surprised? https://t.co/VPtVwcOAV3
— ALBUMS OUT NOW (@RealBrysonGray) April 12, 2021
