Police chief who defended female cop who killed Daunte Wright abruptly resigns top role amid ‘chaos’
The police chief who defended the officer who fatally shot Black man Daunte Wright near Minneapolis Sunday abruptly resigned Tuesday amid a situation of “chaos,” his replacement said.
“It’s very chaotic right now,” new acting police chief Tony Gruenig said.
“I was just informed less than a half-hour ago, or an hour ago, about the whole change in status. There’s just a lot of chaos going on right now. We’re just trying to wrap our heads around the situation and try and create some calm,” he said.
The chief who resigned, Tim Gannon, was sharply criticized for his department’s response to protesters and his failure to join Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott in his call for the termination of Kim Potter, the officer who shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop.
Gannon also seemed to surprise and frustrate Elliott by leaving a press conference Monday while the mayor was still answering questions.
Elliott said Tuesday that he was hopeful the change in management at the department would help send a signal.
“We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family deserves that,” Elliott said Tuesday, adding that he appreciated Potter’s decision to step down from the force Tuesday.
“We want to send the message to the community that we’re taking the situation very seriously. Although things did not unfold the way we thought, ultimately, they should unfold, we’re hoping that we’re turning over a new leaf now,” Elliott said. “We’re going to develop an approach that is community-based, that is based on working with the very strong voices in our community.”
Elliott’s press conference announcing the chief’s resignation took place at the same time Wright’s relatives spoke in Minneapolis near the courthouse where fired former cop Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd last year.
Asked about Gannon’s resignation, Wright family lawyer Benjamin Crump said “the family welcomes responsible leadership.”
“If ever there was a time when nobody in America should be killed by police, it was during this pinnacle trial of Derek Chauvin,” Crump, who also represents Floyd’s family, said.
The family hoped police would be “on their best behavior” during the trial now in its third week, exercising “the greatest standard of care” and concentrating “on deescalation in a way that they have never concentrated in America.”
Lawyer Jeff Storms, who also represents the Wright family, had harsh words for the Brooklyn Center police department.
“It’s never an accident, and it’s never just one person. The problem is always bigger than that, and I think we saw that in how they acted to our peaceful protests,” Storms said.
Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed by Potter after he was pulled over for a traffic stop early Sunday afternoon, allegedly on the pretext of expired registration tags, Gannon said Monday.
The stop turned up a misdemeanor warrant for Wright’s arrest, so the officers decided to take him into custody.
In a brief clip of Potter’s body-cam video released Monday, a fellow officer is seen trying to handcuff Wright as Potter approaches and aims her gun.
“Taser! Taser! Taser!” she shouts as Wright tries to get back into his vehicle.
Potter fires once and then says, “Shit, I just shot him.”
Gannon said he considered the incident an “accidental discharge” and that Potter deserved a chance to give her statement before any disciplinary decisions were made.
Wright’s parents rejected that assessment in an emotional interview with “Good Morning America.”
“I cannot accept that. I lost my son. He’s never coming back. I can’t accept that — a mistake? That doesn’t even sound right,” Daunte’s dad Aubrey Wright told GMA host Robin Roberts.
Daunte’s mom, Katie Wright, said her son was fearful of police.
It was less than a year ago, and only about 12 miles away, that Floyd was placed in handcuffs and then restrained face-down on a sidewalk until he stopped breathing.
In 2016 in the neighboring suburb of Falcon Heights, police fatally shot Black motorist Philando Castile during a similar traffic stop. The Minnesota public school employee was killed after he tried to explain he had a valid concealed carry permit for his weapon in the car.
“I know my son was scared. He’s afraid of the police, and I just seen and heard the fear in his voice,” she said. “It should have never escalated the way it did.”
