On April 11th, Brooklyn Center Police officer Kim Potter, and an officer she was training, pulled Wright over for an expired registration tag on his car. The officers then determined during the stop that Wright had an outstanding gross misdemeanor warrant, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Tuesday. 

As the officers tried to take Wright into custody, the 20-year-old got back into his car. Potter then announced that she would use the Taser on Wright, according to the Washington County Attorney’s Office. “She pulled her Glock 9mm handgun with her right hand and pointed it at Wright, saying again that she would tase him,” prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday. “Potter said ‘Taser, Taser, Taser,’ and pulled the trigger on her handgun.” 

Potter then said, “S—, I just shot him!” according to prosecutors. 

Wright’s car sped off, traveling several blocks before crashing into another car. 

Wright died at the scene.

On April 14th, Kim Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter. A second-degree manslaughter conviction in Minnesota carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

Fast forward to the present day, there are new revelations in the case. 

I believe new videos and recordings will be released to the public to say the whole truth, not just half-truths and a false narrative. 

Yet another black body dead at the hands of the police.  

A criminal record does not warrant being murdered by the police. 

Law enforcement officers are not given the job of judge, jury, and executioner. Their job is to protect and serve the citizens of this country. It is not their job to decide who gets to live or die based on what that person may have done in the past.  

How many instances have we seen of white men and women physically assaulting a cop while being apprehended? How many instances of running away, grabbing the cop’s gun, attempting to steal the police car, and even threatening the cop with a weapon in their hand? This happens far too often without any use of force by police. And this is not a bad thing- cops shouldn’t be killing anyone. 

The problem, however, is that Black and Brown men, women and children of all ages are not afforded the courtesy of patience by police. The very communities that are over-policed and brutalized by law enforcement; the communities with every right to be terrified by encounters with police are expected to remain calm and collected in these situations. It shouldn’t be this way, but sadly it is.  

We are told this is the “land of the free” but we are not free. We are still in handcuffs 400 years later. 

Hopefully, one day, I and many others like me can exist in a world where we aren’t judged by the color of our skin, but by our character. 

I can’t imagine losing a loved one to police brutality.