Fatal shooting of Black man in Minneapolis suburb likely an accident

People stand on a police cruiser as protesters take to the streets after Brooklyn Center police shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. A crowd gathered to confront police as they held a line while investigators searched the scene. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man in a Minneapolis suburb appeared to be an "accidental discharge" by an officer who drew her gun during a struggle rather than their Taser, the city's police chief said on Monday, according to a

Reuters

report.

The shooting on Sunday led to the death of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, not far from where the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former white Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, is taking place.

Video footage presented at a news briefing on Monday showed a struggle between Wright and the officer. Wright then got back into the car and an officer could be heard yelling "Taser, Taser."

"This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers' reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright," Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told a briefing.

"I want to say that our hearts are aching right now," Brooklyn Park Mayor Mike Elliott told the briefing. "We are in pain right now. And we recognize that this couldn't have happened at a worse time."

"We will get to the bottom of this," Elliott said. "We will do all that is in our power to make sure that justice is done for Daunte Wright."

Wright's mother, Katie Wright, had told reporters on Sunday she had received a call from her son on Sunday afternoon telling her that police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror, which is illegal in Minnesota. She could hear police tell her son to get out the vehicle, she said.

In a statement, Brooklyn Center police said officers pulled over a man for a traffic violation just before 2 p.m., and found he had an outstanding arrest warrant. As police tried to arrest him, he got back in the car. One officer shot the man, who was not identified in the statement. The man drove several blocks before striking another vehicle and dying at the scene.

(With input from agencies)