US police officer resigns 2 days just after mistaking gun for taser, fatally shooting black motorist

A white officer who fatally shot a dark man during a traffic stay in a Minneapolis suburb resigned on Tuesday (Apr 13), as did the city's law enforcement chief - moves that the mayor said he hoped would help heal the city and cause reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest.

The resignations from Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon came two days following the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Middle. 

Potter, a 26-12 months veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sunday’s shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area had been on edge above the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyd’s death.

Brooklyn Centre Mayor Mike Elliott said he was first “appreciative” that Potter submitted her resignation but that he previously not asked for it nor accepted it. It wasn't immediately obvious what that could mean.

A decision on whether prosecutors will fee Potter could come when Wednesday.

Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was first choosing her Taser. She could be heard on her behalf body camera video recording shouting “Taser! Taser!” Even so, protesters and Wright's members of the family say there's no excuse for the capturing and it shows the way the justice program can be tilted against Blacks, noting Wright was stopped for expired car registration and finished up dead.

Elliott said at a good news conference that the city have been moving toward firing Potter when she resigned. He said he hoped her resignation would “bring some relaxed to the city,” but that he would keep working towards “complete accountability under the law".

“We have to make certain that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family group deserves that,” Elliott said.

Activists who exactly attended the news conference needed sweeping improvements to the Brooklyn Centre Police Division and sharply criticised the performing law enforcement chief, Tony Gruenig, for not yet having a plan.

Elliott said the section has about 49 cops, none of whom live in Brooklyn Centre. He said he didn't have data on racial diversity accessible but that “we've very few people of colour inside our department".

The modest suburb merely north of Minneapolis has seen its demographics shift significantly recently. In 2000, more than 70 % of the town was white. Today, most residents are dark-colored, Asian or Latino.

Wright was first stopped for having expired permit plates. Police then tried out to arrest him on an outstanding warrant after failing to come in court on expenses that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an come across with Minneapolis law enforcement in June.