On Sunday, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was stopped by a police officer. According to his mother, Katie Wright, her son called her from his car after the police officer stopped him. She said that he sounded like he was afraid. Mrs. Wright told her son to give the phone to the police officer, but when the police officer came back, Wright was told to put down the phone and step out of the car.
Mrs. Wright frantically tried to call her son back, and eventually the phone was answered by a girl who was in the car with her son. That’s when she found out that her son had been shot by the police officer.
Wright died from that shot. The police officer who shot him is a woman named Kim Potter. According to the police, the shooting was an accident. Apparently, Potter intended to use her stun gun but pulled out her handgun instead.
Potter is not new to the police force. She has been an officer for 26 years, and she was actually training another officer at the time she pulled over Wright.
Being told that their son died from an “accident” does not sit well with Wright’s parents. They lost their son, and nothing can bring him back.
Katie Wright and Aubrey Wright, Daunte Wright’s mom and dad, talked to Robin Roberts on Good Morning America to explain their thoughts about this tragedy. Hear what they have to say in the video below.
Potter is currently on administrative leave.
Wright’s sister, Diamond Wright, explained to ABC News that she doesn’t think the shooting was an accident. She said, “You don’t accidentally grab something and point without knowing.”
Do you believe the police officer that shot Daunte Wright really did shoot him accidentally? Does it matter? What do you think justice would look like in this tragic situation?