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The video was posted to TikTok by @brian1504, whose account has since been deleted, following much discussion after former Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Minnesota. Police officials, according to NPR, claimed Potter mistook her gun for a Taser. Advertisement Hide
“I don’t understand how we can mistake a taser for a gun or a gun for a taser. 99% of our job is communication. You don’t gotta be quick to pull out a gun or a taser. Not everybody’s a threat. Try talking to them, get to know them people.” 12 year Veteran Police Officer Brian B pic.twitter.com/feOIUBH2tu Qasim Rashid, Esq. قاسم رشید (@QasimRashid) April 17, 2021
Tasers look and feel different from pistols in a number of ways, and most police forces including Brooklyn Center’s have standard precautions and protocols in place to prevent the sort of mix-up that can be deadly.
Tasers are often produced in bright colors, or with neon accents, to distinguish them from pistols. The Brooklyn Center Police Department manual cites the Glock 17, 19 and 26 as standard-issue for the department. All three pistol models weigh significantly more than a typical Taser. Glocks also have a trigger safety that can be felt when touching the trigger. Tasers do not. Grips on Tasers are typically different from those of firearms, as well, though they may feel similar because both are usually made of a similar type of polymer.
Daunte Wright Live Updates: Protest Outside Police Station Fades
Last Updated
April 13, 2021, 2:06 a.m. ETApril 13, 2021, 2:06 a.m. ET
The police killing in a Minneapolis suburb adds to tensions around the trial of Derek Chauvin. Protesters there defied a 7 p.m. curfew. Police officers fired tear gas and made arrests.
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Protesters gathered outside the Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., for a second night, in violation of the city’s curfew. Officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.CreditCredit.Joshua Rashaad McFadden for The New York Times
Key Updates:
A protester standing in front of police officers in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Monday night.Credit.Joshua Rashaad McFadden for The New York Times
Officer Kim Potter in 2007.Credit.Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune, via Getty Images
Minnesota officials on Monday identified the police officer who shot Daunte Wright as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, and said she had been placed on administrative leave.
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a brief statement that Officer Potter had been placed on “standard administrative leave.” The statement did not elaborate, citing an active investigation.
The Star Tribune newspaper reported on Monday that Officer Potter, 48, had been licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995. It said that her duties over the course of her tenure had included serving on the department’s negotiation team.