A man holds a poster of Downt Wright in George Floyd Square, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 20, 2021. NICOLAS PFOSI / Reuters
A city in the suburbs of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $ 3.2 million to the family of Daunte Wright, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer who said she had mistaken her gun for her taser.
The preliminary agreement also includes changes in police policies and training, including traffic jams such as the one that led to Wright’s death, according to a statement Tuesday from lawyers representing Wright’s family.
Wright was shot once in the chest by Brooklyn Center employee Kim Potter, who is white after the 20-year-old was stopped due to an expired registration label in April 2021. The former officer was subsequently convicted of first and second degree manslaughter and convicted to two years in prison.
Potter is heard on video shouting “Taser” several times just before firing his pistol.
Wright’s family members “hope and believe that measures to change the police, policies and training will lead to important improvements in the community on behalf of Daunte,” said councilor Antonio M. Romanucci. “Nothing can bring him back, but the family hopes his legacy will be positive and prevent any other family from enduring the kind of grief they will live with for the rest of their lives.
The Associated Press left a statement Wednesday asking for comment from City Hall.
The shooting came at a time of high tensions in the area, with former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, facing trial just miles away for the murder of George Floyd, a black man. Floyd’s death in May 2020 caused retribution for police brutality and discrimination involving people of color.
The aftermath of Wright’s death prompted the Brooklyn City Council to adopt a series of reforms, including the use of social workers and other trained professionals to answer non-police medical, mental and social needs.
The changes also ban police from arresting low-level crimes and require the city to use unarmed civilians to deal with minor traffic violations.
The settlement is one of the largest, involving police action in Minnesota. Last year, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $ 27 million to the Floyd family.
Earlier, Minneapolis paid $ 20 million to the family of Justin Ruschik Diamond after she called 911 to report an alleged attack behind her home in July 2017 and was fatally shot by Mohamed Noor, one of the police officers who answered her call. Nur is a Somali American, and Diamond was white.
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