In Minnesota, a grieving community desperate for change after officer killed Daunte Wright
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — America’s most recent high-profile killing of a Black man at the hands of police happened in the backyard of the one that set off protests across the country and globe nearly a year ago.
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a small city in Hennepin County where 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed Sunday during a traffic stop, is about 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis officer in May and where a former officer charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter is currently standing trial.
“My first thoughts are anger and rage because of this systematic racism that happens over and over again,” said P. J. Hill, vice president of the NAACP in Minnesota. “Regardless if we know the facts, it’s just another Black man being killed, and this runs deep in our community. People need to understand that things need to change.”
Elise Goodwin said she’s tired of shootings and the loss of Black lives by law enforcement.
“Daunte Wright was unjustly murdered, and change needs to happen,” she said at Monday's rally outside the Brooklyn Police Department, where hundreds gathered to demonstrate. “We’re here to say we’ve had enough.”