Daunte Wright’s Mother: Day Son Was Shot ‘Worst Day of My Life’

Katie Wright (C), Daunte Wright's mother, and family members attend a press conference at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 13, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

The mother of the Minnesota man who was fatally shot by a police officer on Sunday called the day the worst of her life in a press conference on Tuesday.

Katie Wright recounted being on the phone with Daunte Wright, 20, after he was pulled over for a traffic violation in Brooklyn Center near Minneapolis.

He told her that the police officers were asking about insurance. She asked to be put on the phone with an officer to convey the insurance information, but Wright was soon being handcuffed for an outstanding warrant and the phone was hung up.

Wright resisted arrest and tried fleeing the scene. He was shot by officer Kim Potter, who resigned on Tuesday along with Police Chief Tim Gannon, who had previously told reporters Potter thought she was firing her Taser.

“They hung up the phone. Three or four seconds went by. I tried calling it back to back to back because I didn’t know what was going on. And I never imagined this is what was going to happen. I just thought maybe he was being arrested. And then when I called back, the girl that he had in the car answered the phone, and it was on a FaceTime. And she said she was crying and screaming and she said that they shot him,” Katie Wright said during the briefing.

“She pointed the phone towards the driver’s seat and my son was laying there unresponsive. That was the last time that I see my son. That’s the last time I heard from my son and I have had no explanation since then,” she added, calling April 11 “the worst day of my life.”

China Whitaker, the mother of Wright’s son, said her son will now grow up without a father.

“And I’m just so messed up about it because, I feel like they stole my son’s dad from him,” she said.

Protesters clash with police over the shooting death of Daunte Wright at a rally at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 20121. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

Naisha Wright said that Potter “killed my nephew.” The body camera footage shows the officer holding her gun out in front of her for a long time, she noted.

“I watched that video like everybody else watched that video. That woman held a gun out in front of her for a long damn time,” she said.

Potter, a 26-year veteran of Brooklyn Center’s police force, submitted her letter of resignation on Tuesday, the city’s mayor told reporters at a separate briefing.

Mike Elliott, the mayor, called on Minnesota’s governor to turn prosecution of the case over to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading prosecutors in attempting to secure a conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

It’s not clear yet if Potter will be charged.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which represents law enforcement, said in a statement that people should wait to come to conclusions until the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension finishes its investigation into the fatal shooting.

“The tragic chain of events that resulted in the loss of life is weighing on all of us,” the group said, calling on demonstrations to remain peaceful after two nights of rioting.