Brooklyn Center, Minn. city council approves police changes after deadly Daunte Wright shooting
The Brooklyn Center, Minn. city council has passed a resolution that implements a number of police changes after a former officer shot and killed Daunte Wright.
Wright, 20, was shot during a traffic stop over expired tags by Kim Potter. Potter was later charged with second degree manslaughter.
The resolution, called the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety & Violence Prevention Act, calls for unarmed employees to handle non-moving traffic violations and interactions with people in the midst of mental crises, according to ABC News.
Dimock-Heisler, a 21-year-old man with autism, was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center officers after a fight with his grandparents.
“We’re taking a bold step here, this city,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said. “But we can do it. We’re gonna do it.”
The city workers who respond to these new calls with do so as part of the newly formed Community Response Department. The workers will be trained medical and mental health professionals and social workers.
The resolution also creates a new Civilian Traffic Enforcement Department to handle traffic stops.
“I truly believe if this was implemented prior to April 11, our son would still be with us today,” Daunte Wright’s mother Katie Wright said ahead of the council’s vote.
The resolution also establishes a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention to provide oversight to the two new departments as well as the the police department and fire department.
