Police Say Killing of Unarmed Motorist Near Minneapolis was ‘Accidental’

There is no denying that law enforcement in America have a tough job.  This is a progression in which life-or-death situations are not only regular, but prepared for.  There is intense and constant training that these officers undergo, so that they are prepared to react appropriately when things get real.

But there are mistakes made, some of which are unforgivable.

In the suburbs of Minneapolis this week, a city rife with tension over the trial of the officer who killed George Floyd, another instance of an unarmed black man dying at the hands of local police is under investigation…and some of the information now becoming available is downright disturbing.

During a press conference Monday afternoon, officials in Brooklyn Center released body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

The body camera shows police approaching Wright’s vehicle and asking him to step out of the car. They attempt to handcuff him before he pulls away and gets back into his driver’s seat.

The officer whose body camera footage was shown pulls out a gun while shouting “Taser.”

After firing the gun, the officer says, “Holy s**t, I just shot him.”

The footage raises a major question about the officer’s intent.

“As I watched the video and listen to the officer’s commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,” Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said. “This appears to me from what I viewed and the officer’s reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.”

This revelation has led to extreme backlash on Twitter, with a bevy of users suggesting that such a mistake is unforgivable in police ranks.