After milestone police verdict, Minneapolis lays to rest another Black man

[April 22, 2021]  By Nathan Layne

(Reuters) - Two days after a Minneapolis jury found a white police officer guilty of murdering George Floyd, the city will lay to rest Daunte Wright, another Black man whose violent death has raised fresh concerns over the way police treat people of color.

The funeral for Wright, 20, who was shot by a white police officer in a Minneapolis suburb on April 11 after a routine traffic stop, will be attended by a number of high-profile civil rights activists as well as family and friends.

The service is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CDT (1:00 p.m. ET) at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, a historically Black church in north Minneapolis. The Reverend Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, as he did at Floyd's funeral last year.

On Tuesday a Minneapolis jury convicted Derek Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the police force, on all three counts of murder and manslaughter for killing Floyd by pressing his knee into his neck for more than nine minutes last May.

Mourners pay their respects for Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center Police officer Kim Potter, at his public viewing at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., April 21, 2021. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

While Chauvin's conviction brought a measure of satisfaction to people calling for an end to brutality and racism in policing, to many Wright's death served as a reminder of the risks facing Black people during encounters with police.

Police video of the shooting shows multiple officers attempting to arrest Wright for an outstanding warrant and an ensuing scuffle. The video then shows Kimberly Potter threatening to stun Wright with her Taser before firing her handgun. She can be heard saying she shot him a few moments later. Before resigning, former Police Chief Tim Gannon said Potter mistakenly used her gun instead of her Taser.

Potter, who also resigned after the incident, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Potter has not entered a plea and her lawyer, Earl Gray, has not commented about the case.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Minneapolis; editing by Grant McCool)

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