The unidentified female officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright is on administrative leave

The police chief in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota has attributed the death of Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man, to an “accidental discharge” by the responding police officer.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon held a press conference on Monday to discuss the shooting death of 20-year-old Wright on Sunday, CNN reported. Gannon claimed that the officer who fired the fatal shot meant to reach for her taser instead.

Bodycam footage of the encounter was released. It showed a female officer shouting “Taser! Taser! Taser” and “I just shot him,” as officers surrounded Wright. Gannon believed that provided context for Wright’s shooting.

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“For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you’re right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left,” Gannon said at a press conference attended by journalists and activists.

“This is done purposefully, and it’s trained. As I watch the video and listen to the officer’s commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=feedly&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfX0%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1381660604868538378&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffeedly.com%2Fi%2Fmy&sessionId=830da5b79147bc68d550d33a07becbd06d93c206&siteScreenName=feedly&theme=light&widgetsVersion=1ead0c7%3A1617660954974&width=550px

The chief further claimed that the officer, who has not yet been publicly named, reacted from “distress.”

“As I watch the video and listen to the officer’s commands it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet, this appears to me, from what I viewed, and the officer’s reaction in distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge,” Gannon said.

Source: Police Chief says shooting death of Daunte Wright was due to ‘accidental discharge’