After the shooting of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on Sunday, Minnesota officials have declared a state of Emergency.
Daunte Wright was pulled over Sunday, and arrested due to outstanding warrants in his name. As he was being cuffed, he pushed officers off of his person and stepped into his vehicle.
As officers struggled with him, they asked him not to run. One officer threatened to tase him. As she prepared, she shouted “taser taser” to indicate use was imminent.
She deployed. Immediately after pulling the trigger it became apparent to the officer that she did not deploy her taser, that it was in fact her firearm.
Daunte Wright had been shot. He drove for several blocks before crashing into another vehicle. Daunte lost his life, but occupants of the other vehicle did not sustain life threatening injuries.
Immediately after the single shot was fired, despair could be heard in her voice. This was an accidental discharge.
The body cam footage has been released.
“As I watched the video and listened to the officer’s commands, it is my belief the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,” police Chief Tim Gannon said.
Following the death of Wright, protests took place in Minneapolis where police vehicles were vandalized, demonstrators harassed police, and buildings were looted.
The national guard was deployed to quell the unrest. President Biden said in a statement that there was “absolutely no justification” for looting.