Twin Cities community leaders, activists call for change after shooting of Daunte Wright
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Community leaders from Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department Monday.
Some are demanding the officer who shot Daunte Wright be fired and charged and say systemic changes need to be made.
"We need to create a public safety department that doesn’t use use-of-force in these manners, and unless we do something about it and hold some accountability, I’m afraid to say this will continue," said Jaylani Hussein, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota.
Medical examiner declares Daunte Wright death a homicide
Leaders also asked for patience among residents.
People gather in protest, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The family of Daunte Wright, 20, told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family said Wright was later pronounced dead. [AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa]
"We are telling the community to hold on, let’s stop the violence, stop the looting, stop the tearing down of businesses, we are going to hold everyone accountable," said Pastor Harding Smith of Spiritual Church of God, and Minnesota Acts Now.
As Minnesota, and the world watches the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin just across the city border in Minneapolis, leaders worry not only about how this looks but what it means.
"Here we are in Minnesota, wondering, how could this happen in the midst of the George Floyd trial? It’s the failure of elected leaders to jump in with both feet and do what’s right, " said Johnathon McClellan, president of the Minnesota Justice Coalition.