Photo via @Phil_Lewis_/Twitter
April 14, 2021, 7:51 am*
Naisha Wright, aunt of the 20-year-old Black man killed by a Minneapolis area police officer, said in a press conference that her late nephew was taught in school by the girlfriend of George Floyd, who was killed by former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin last year.
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Many had already noted the short distance between the suburb of Brooklyn heights and the courthouse where Chauvin is currently being tried for murder — just a half-hour away.
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“And the craziest thing is to find out today that my family has connections to this man, to this family,” said Naisha. “His girlfriend was a teacher for my nephew. My nephew was a lovable young man.”
The closeness between Wright and Floyd has outlined just how common police harassment is in Black communities, which studies consistently show endure a much higher incidence of traffic stops and aggressive behavior from cops than white-dominated areas.
Daunte Wright was killed by Officer Kim Potter, who has been in the profession for 26 years and was formerly the president of the Brooklyn Center Police Officer’s Association, after she allegedly mistook her sidearm for her taser and shot him during a traffic stop. She and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned today as people across the U.S. ask how this could have possibly happened when Potter has so much experience.
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Washington County Attorney Pete Orput has said that an announcement on whether criminal charges will be brought against Potter should come no later than Wednesday. The Hennepin County medical examiner has already ruled Dante’s death to be due to homicide via a gunshot to the chest.
The assertion that the shooting of Wright was due to an “accidental discharge” seems to have done nothing to ease the pain of the family or the community, which continued protests against police brutality Monday night.
“My nephew’s blood is on y’all hands,” Naisha continued. “I’ve never seen my brother hurt like this before. Never. To hear my brother and to see my sister’s pain. Hold her accountable? Hold her higher than accountable. You train people on this stuff. Twenty-six years. Twenty-six years.”
Black Americans are once again left wondering if anything will be done after so many decades of this happening again and again while nothing seems to change in the U.S. institution of policing.
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*First Published: April 13, 2021, 1:46 pm
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