Over the weekend, a police officer in Minnesota fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was pulled over for a traffic violation in the city of Brooklyn Center, close to where another officer is on trial for the death of George Floyd.
On Monday, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon claimed the officer accidentally pulled a gun instead of a taser, saying the shooting appeared to be an “accidental discharge.”
Brooklyn Center chief Tim Gannon: "As I watch the video & listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot [Daunte] Wright with a single bullet. This appears to me… that this was an accidental discharge" pic.twitter.com/4hlDyVmLG2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 12, 2021
Activists, victims’ families and journalists were quick to note a comparison between Gannon’s comments and remarks made after the 2009 murder of Oscar Grant. Grant was shot in the back while he was laying face-first on the Fruitvale BART station platform in Oakland by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, who also said that the shooting was accidental.
