Bodycam footage has been launched of a police encounter with the mom of Daunte Wright, the Black driver fatally shot by a Brooklyn Heart police officer final 12 months. Katie Wright says an officer threatened to arrest her for obstruction Wednesday evening within the metropolis the place her son was killed, CBS Minnesota experiences.
In keeping with the activist group Households Supporting Households In opposition to Police Violence, Katie Wright was recording a police interplay on Fb Dwell. The video reveals her recording a number of officers concerned in an obvious site visitors cease on southbound Freeway 252, broadcasting the scene from throughout the median.
At one level throughout the broadcast, one of many officers crosses the busy freeway, speaks to Wright and seems to seize her hand. The activist group says the encounter left Wright with an injured wrist.
Whereas there was no recorded audio on the a part of the published with the officer, Wright claims that the officer advised her she was below arrest for obstruction of justice for videotaping the officers and that she would obtain tickets within the mail. In Minnesota, it isn't unlawful to document cops, as long as it would not get in the best way of an investigation.
"As soon as I advised him who I used to be, he let me go," Wright stated in a later portion of the video with audio. "I simply pulled over properly, ensuring these folks find yourself protected … as a result of we all know Brooklyn Heart kills folks."
Brooklyn Heart police issued an announcement on the incident and rapidly launched the officer's police physique digital camera footage. This got here after Wright and activists met with Mayor Mike Elliott.
"Whereas helping one other company on a high-risk cease as a part of a murder investigation, there was an encounter between Katie Wright and Brooklyn Heart officers," town's assertion stated. "The discharge of the footage is in an effort to advertise public security and dispel widespread rumor or unrest."
The physique digital camera video reveals an officer placing a suspect at the back of a squad automotive earlier than crossing the freeway and confronting Wright, who's sitting in her automotive and recording the encounter. In keeping with police, the suspect had requested that she didn't need her arrest to be recorded.
Within the physique digital camera video, the police officer asks Wright for her driver's license, and he or she refuses to offer it. Instantly after, the officer threatens to "take her to jail for obstruction."
The officer grabs Wright's wrist, pulls her out of the automotive, and takes the telephone out of her hand, the physique digital camera video reveals. The 2 stroll into the freeway median, and Wright says: " who I'm, proper? My identify is Katie Wright, and also you guys killed my son." She tells the officer that in the event that they take her to jail she'll sue the division.
Chuck Valleau, the president of the union representing rank and file officers within the Brooklyn Heart Police Division, issued an announcement, calling the officer's response "skilled" and thanked him for displaying restraint.
"I sympathize with the Wright household for his or her loss, however it doesn't give them free reign to stalk, harass, or threaten any of our officers simply because they're sporting a uniform," he stated. "Our officers proceed to come back to work and bravely combat an unimaginable rise in violent crime in our metropolis. We thank the residents of Brooklyn Heart and others who proceed to help us in our effort to maintain Brooklyn Heart protected."
Katie Wright's son died on April 11, 2021, when former Brooklyn Heart police officer Kim Potter fatally shot him throughout a site visitors cease. In court docket, she stated that she meant to make use of her Taser, and did not imply to shoot Wright.
Earlier this 12 months, a jury convicted Potter of manslaughter. She was sentenced to 16 months in jail.
Since Daunte Wright's loss of life, Brooklyn Heart says they've been working to reform policing within the metropolis.