Updated Apr 13, 2021 - Politics

Police chief and officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright resign

Orion Rummler

A crowd of people hold signs — Protesters in front of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 13. Photo: Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kim Potter, identified as the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a weekend traffic stop near Minneapolis, resigned from her position "effectively immediately," Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said in a statement Tuesday.

What's new: Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday, Elliott said at a press conference. Elliot also called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to turn the case over to Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is currently prosecuting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Background: Potter had been with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, per the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop just before 2 p.m. Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minn.

Police said Monday that Potter had inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a Taser during the traffic stop. She was placed on administrative leave on Monday.
The Hennepin County medical examiner said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting an independent investigation of the incident.

The big picture: Wright's killing, just 10 miles from where George Floyd died a year ago, has sparked Black Lives Matter protests and new calls for police reform.

A judge denied a request by Chauvin's lawyers on Monday to sequester the jury in his murder trial due to the civil unrest surrounding Wright's death.

Go deeper: Fallout over Daunte Wright shooting continues

Add Axios on Google

Police chief and officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright resign

More Twin Cities stories