Daunte Wright's Mother Speaks Out: 'My Son Was Scared, He's Afraid Of The Police'
The parents of Daunte Wright have given their first interview since the killing of their 20-year-old son on April 11.
In an April 13 interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother, said through tears that her son called her when he was pulled over by police. He said that police told him was stopped due to an air freshener in his rearview mirror.
She also heard police tell him to exit the car.
"Daunte said, 'For what, am I in trouble?' I heard the phone getting put down pretty hard. And then I heard scuffling and the girl that was with him screaming, and I heard an officer ask for them to hang up the phone and then I didn't hear anything else."
She continued, "I tried to call back three, four times and the girl that was with him answered the phone and she said that they shot him and he was lying in the driver's seat unresponsive. And then I heard an officer ask her to hang up the phone again and then after that, that's the last time I've seen my son. I haven't seen him since."
Mrs. Wright also revealed her son had a fear of police, "I know my son was scared. He's afraid of the police, and I just seen and heard the fear in his voice. But I don't know why and it should have never escalated the way it did."
"He had a 2-year-old son that's not going to be able to play basketball with him. He had sisters and brothers that he loved so much. He just had his whole life taken away from him. We had our hearts pulled out of our chests. He was my baby," Mrs. Wright said while sobbing.
The officer, identified by authorities as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, who killed Wright is now on administrative leave. The police department claims the officer meant to shoot him with a taser, not a gun and it was an “accidental discharge.”
Aubrey Wright, Daunte’s father, told Roberts, "I can't accept that -- a mistake, that doesn't even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I can't accept that."
Watch the emotional interview below:
On the afternoon of April 11, Daunte Wright was stopped by Brooklyn Center police, which is a neighboring town of Minneapolis. According to The Washington Post, Wright had an outstanding warrant and police tried to arrest him. Wright allegedly reentered his vehicle and drove away, which is when police shot at the car, striking Wright.
He drove off and crashed into several cars. Wright was pulled out of the car and CPR was performed.
Katie Wright previously said she begged that her son’s body be removed from the street, which reportedly lay there for over five hours.
