The family of Daunte Wright and their attorneys say they welcome the criminal charge against the former police officer who fired the shot that killed him Sunday, but questioned why she wasn’t charged with murder. Daunte's mother Katie spoke at New Salem Baptist Church, about the inability to ever get real justice.
"There's never going to be justice for us," she said at the podium. "Justice would bring our son home to us, knocking on the door with his big smile on his face, sitting down to eat dinner with us, going out to lunch, playing with his almost 2-year-old son before he walks out the door. Justice isn't even a word to me."
The family's attorney Ben Crump pointed at the case of Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor who is black and was convicted in 2019 of third-degree murder for killing Justine Ruszczyk, a white woman, while Potter, who is white, was not charged with murder for killing Wright, a Black man.
Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter made her first court appearance today after being charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, an incident in which she mistakenly shot her firearm instead of her taser.
Potter appeared before Hennepin County District Court Judge Regina Chu via Zoom. She is out of the Hennepin County jail after posting bond late in the day yesterday. Potter is being represented by defense attorney Earl Gray. Her next court appearance is May 17th.
Crump told reporters at a news conference that more serious charges can be filed against Potter based on the investigation and he suggested murder charges should be added.
Crump said he believed that the reason there are criminal charges at all is because of the protests following the death of George Floyd and that so many other police officers responsible for the deaths of other Black people never faced charges.
Aubrey Wright, Daunte Wright’s father, spoke briefly about his son. He said he doesn't like to speak much especially in front of crowds but he felt it was important for me to let people know that his son was a good person, and that they were building him up to be an even better person.
“What’s going on is unfair. Can you blame my son or any other Black man for being afraid of the police?"
The funeral for Daunte Wright will be held next Thursday to remember the father of a two-year-old son and press for an aggressive prosecution of Potter.
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