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Police Officer Accidentally Kills Black Man After Pulling Handgun Instead Of Taser

Police Officer Accidentally Kills Black Man After Pulling Handgun Instead Of Taser

Hundreds of people have started protesting in the same city where George Floyd died.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Minnesota is on a knife edge at the moment after a police officer accidentally killed a black man during an arrest.

Daunte Wright was pulled over for a traffic violation in Brooklyn Center and officers learned the man also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

It's alleged the 20-year-old tried to get back into his car while he was being arrested and one of the arresting officers pulled out their taser and pulled the trigger.

However, it wasn't their taser and was instead their handgun.

Bodycam footage has been shown at a press conference, revealing the female officer warned Wright to stop moving and threatened to 'tase ya' as he was kicking her.

The officer was heard saying on the footage: "Taser, taser, taser...Oh s**t! I just shot him."

The Recount/Twitter

Wright's mum, Katie Wright, was on the phone with her son during the incident and she recalled to KARE 11 about hearing a 'scuffle' and then a gunshot.

"A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, which was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and my son was laying there, lifeless," she said.

The 'very senior officer' has been placed on administrative leave while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducts an investigation into the incident.

However, the officer appears to have the support of Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

In a press conference, the Police Chief said he believes the officer's account of accidentally pulling out her handgun instead of her taser.

Friends and family comfort Katie Wright, right, while she speaks briefly to news media.
PA

"This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright," Gannon said.

"I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning."

But Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott supports the calls to have the officer fired for the incident.

"My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession, so I do fully support releasing the officer of her duties," he said.

"We're going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole."

PA

Protests have broken out in Brooklyn Center as the shooting has occurred at the same time as the trial of one of the officers involved in the death of George Floyd.

Floyd was also killed in Minnesota last year and protestors are furious that another life has been tragically lost.

But Wright's mum Katie has urged protestors to be civil and calm.

"All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason," she said

"We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back."

Featured Image Credit: The Recount/Twitter

Topics: News, US News