The Brooklyn Center police chief and the officer who shot Daunte Wright resigned Tuesday morning, Mayor Mike Elliott said at a press conference.
Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran, was identified by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as the officer who fired the fatal shot in Wright’s Sunday death. Body camera video of the incident shows Wright resisting arrest and attempting to flee the scene.
Potter mistakenly drew her handgun instead of her Taser during the encounter, the video indicates.
BREAKING: Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon describes the officer involved shooting that led to the death of Daunte Wright as an “accidental discharge” and says he believes the officer intended to fire her taser. (Warning: Graphic content) pic.twitter.com/SNIHpF8Bu7
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) April 12, 2021
Elliott said both Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon submitted letters of resignation Tuesday morning after the City Council approved a resolution recommending their termination.
“As of this morning, we have received a resignation letter from Officer Kim Potter. In addition to that, we have also received a letter of resignation from the police chief,” Elliott said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
Activists called for Gannon’s removal because of the crowd-control tactics he used during the first night of unrest in Brooklyn Center. The City Council also fired City Manager Curt Boganey after he defended Potter’s due process rights.
“All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline,” Boganey said before he was fired. “This employee will receive due process and that’s really all that I can say today.”
Council Member Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she voted in favor of firing Boganey because she was concerned for her own safety, Fox News reported.
“He was doing a great job. I respect him dearly,” Lawrence-Anderson said. “I didn’t want repercussions at a personal level.”
Elliott also announced that a pro-police flag outside the police department headquarters was taken down because the “community sees it as inflammatory.”
“With people coming to the department expressing their anger and seeing the flag, we don’t want the flag to be a flashpoint that angers people,” he said.
EARLIER TODAY: Brooklyn Center PD fly a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ flag outside their station. #DaunteWright pic.twitter.com/wXeuFNvvpD
— anoncat🐈⬛🏴 (@anoncatnews) April 13, 2021
Shortly after the press conference, Elliott said he asked Gov. Tim Walz to reassign the case from the county prosecutor to Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office — similar to what happened with former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
To ensure transparency and to continue building trust in our community, I’m asking the Governor @GovTimWalz to reassign Daunte’s case to the office of the attorney general @AGEllison.
— Mayor Mike Elliott (@mayor_elliott) April 13, 2021
Wright’s death sparked two nights of looting and rioting in the Minneapolis suburb.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
