The Shooting of Daunte Wright - WSJ Editorial

Riots broke out again this week after a police officer fatally shot a 20-year-old black man Sunday in Brooklyn Center, a city of 31,000 north of Minneapolis. Politicians and protesters immediately assumed that racism motivated the shooting, but the facts may prove more complicated, and the rush to judgment doesn’t serve justice.

Police say officers pulled Daunte Wright over because of expired registration tags, then discovered an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Wright faced charges for carrying a pistol without a permit and fleeing police, and he failed to show up in court, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Body cam footage shows Wright resisting arrest and trying to get back in his vehicle. “Taser, taser, taser,” shouted an officer later identified as 48-year-old Kim Potter. “Holy s—,” she says seconds later, “I just shot him.” Police Chief Tim Gannon said Monday “it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet” and described the shooting as “accidental.” Ms. Potter and Mr. Gannon resigned Tuesday. The investigation must answer how an officer may have mistaken her gun for a taser, but we’ve seen nothing that suggests racial animus drove Ms. Potter to pull the trigger.

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Almost on cue, peaceful protests also devolved into street chaos. On Monday night protesters looted businesses, and police arrested some 40 people in Brooklyn Center and 13 in Minneapolis. Rioters in Portland and Seattle used the shooting as an excuse for violence.

Credit President Biden for encouraging forbearance. “Was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined,” he said Monday, adding that while “peaceful protest is understandable,” there is “absolutely no justification for violence.” The bedlam in Brooklyn Center and elsewhere creates fresh injustices while resolving nothing.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-shooting-of-daunte-wright-11618354193 (subscription)