While the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police have called the death of Daunte Wright - a 20-year-old black man - "a mistake," the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office determined Monday afternoon that it
was a homicide. caused by a bullet in the chest
.
The Bureau of Medical Examination is an independent authority and its classification of cause of death is not a legal determination of guilt or intent.
Police Chief Tim Gannon said at a press conference on Monday that the agent who shot Wright on Sunday while trying to stop him made a mistake by mistaking his firearm for a
taser
or electric shock gun.
"Our training requires that we use the firearm in the dominant hand and the taser in the other. I think the officer tried to use the taser and instead the officer fired. I think it was an accidental use of the firearm that resulted in the death of Daunte Wright, "Gannon explained.
Protesters outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department the day after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer;
on April 12, 2021.REUTERS
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot described the incident as "very tragic" and
said the officer who shot Wright should be fired
.
Later that Monday Elliot announced that he had "relieved his duties" of Brooklyn Center city manager Curt Boganey.
[One of the officers who threatened and beat an Afro-Latino military man in Virginia after the state police opened an investigation is fired]
Although the mayor did not cite a specific reason for Boganey's removal, he did not promise to say whether he was in favor of firing the agent who shot Wright.
The president,
Joe Biden, lamented the tragedy through a message on Twitter
.
“Today I am thinking of Daunte Wright and his family - and the pain, anger and trauma that Black Americans face every day.
While we await the full investigation, we know what we must do to move forward: rebuild trust and ensure accountability so that no one is above the law, ”Biden wrote.
National Guard deploys to Minnesota after violent protests over the death of a young black man
April 12, 202101: 58
The fatal incident began like many others
that have involved law enforcement in brutality cases against black men: with a minor traffic violation.
Wright was driving an SUV with expired license plates.
He was also breaking a Minnesota law that prohibits drivers from hanging objects on the rearview mirror, where a flavoring agent was on.
[This Hispanic driver feared for his life when he was the target of an undercover police operation]
After the cops realized those two things, they discovered that Wright had a warrant for his arrest for a misdemeanor.
Minutes later, a shot rang out and Wright joined the ranks of black motorists who died after being pulled over by police, a group that includes
32-year-old Philando Castile, who was fatally shot in 2016 by an officer. Minneapolis Police Station
after being pulled over for a bad taillight.
A man jumps on top of a police car this Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, in protest at the death of Daunte Wright.
AP / AP
Wright's death comes at a time of great tension for the Twin Cities, just as the trial takes place against former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, another black man who died after an encounter with the policeman.
Authorities have issued a curfew in the Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis metropolitan area to try to contain protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
