Daunte Wright’s mom has police run-in

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — The mother of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by a suburban Minneapolis police officer, said she was injured while she was briefly detained by one of the same department’s officers after she stopped to record an arrest of a person during a traffic stop.

Katie Wright said Thursday that she was worried about what the Brooklyn Center officers might do to the person being handcuffed when she pulled over Wednesday night. In April 2021, her 20-year-old son, who was Black, was killed during a traffic stop by Kim Potter, a white officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser.

“All I was doing was my civic duty to pull over and make sure that those babies got home safe to their families, because I don’t want what happened to me to happen to any other families,” Wright said.

Police released body-camera video that shows an officer crossing several lanes of highway traffic and asking Wright for her driver’s license. She refused, telling the officer she didn’t need to show him her license because she hadn’t been pulled over.

The officer then pulled her out of her vehicle, took her phone and placed it on the roof of her car before leading her toward the median while holding her arm behind her back. Wright said the officer grabbed her so forcefully that he injured her wrist.

She told the officer her name and said, “You guys killed my son. I’m going to videotape them,” gesturing to police. The officer told Wright he would send her a ticket in the mail and both returned to their vehicles.

Police union president Chuck Valleau praised the officer for what he called a “professional response and restraint during the incident.”

The Police Department released a statement saying the video footage was released “in an effort to promote public safety and dispel widespread rumor or unrest.”