Brooklyn Center Cop Who Fatally Shot Daunte Wright Resigns, along with Police Chief

The police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright at a traffic stop has announced her resignation along with Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

Kimberly Potter, who served 26 years with the city force, said it would be in the “best interest” of the force for her to resign. Gannon said Potter intended to subdue Wright with a taser, but accidentally shot him with her handgun.

“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” Potter wrote in a letter to city officials.

The incident sparked looting and rioting on Sunday night, including at stores that were ransacked in 2020 after the death of George Floyd during his arrest by Minneapolis officers. Disturbances resumed on Monday evening despite a curfew, during which rioters clashed with police outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Officers arrested 40 people in Brooklyn Center on Monday evening.

Katie Wright, Daunte’s mother, lamented her son’s death at the site of his killing in a peaceful vigil on Monday.

“I just need everyone to know that he was my life. He was my son,” Wright said. “And I can never get that back. Because of a mistake? Because of an accident?”

The shooting occurred during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of killing George Floyd in May 2020.

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