Photo: Getty Images
The mother of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Minnesota father who was shot and killed during an April 2021 traffic stop, said she was approached and grabbed by police for attempting to film a traffic stop on the highway.
Katie Wright said she saw a "high police presence" on Wednesday (May 4) for a single vehicle that had been pulled over, CNN's Omar Jimenez reported.
Wright said at least one person inside the car looked to be between 20 to 25 years old, so she pulled over onto the highway's shoulder and began filming the traffic stop on her cellphone. That's when the mother says a Brooklyn Center cop approached her and tried to arrest her for filming.
"All I was doing was my civic duty to pull over and make sure that those babies got home safe to their families because I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other families," Wright said during a press conference on Thursday (May 5).
The mother is calling for the officer to be fired.
According to the Minnesota ACLU, a person "has the right to record police actions as long as you do not interfere with their activities and are not breaking any other law."
Body camera footage of the incident was released Thursday (May 5) and shows an officer assisting in the arrest of at least one person who is placed in a police vehicle. The officer then turns to Wright, who is recording, and can be heard saying, "she's getting a ticket."
Another officer says, "Nah, don't worry about it. Come on!"
The person being arrested was heard moments earlier telling officers, "I don't want to be on that camera over there. She's recording over there, I don't want my face on camera because I don't know what the f––k is going on."
It's not clear if the person being arrested was referring to Wright or someone else.
One of the officers walks toward Wright and demands to see her driver's license.
"You're going to give me your driver's license or I'm going to take you to jail for obstruction," the officer tells Wright. The officer grabs her wrist and takes her phone out of her hands.
He begins to take her away from the car before Wright says, "You know who I am right?"
"You guys killed my son and I'm going to videotape it," Wright says, pointing towards the traffic stop.
"You can't sit on the side of the road," the officer says.
"Don't ever touch me again" Wright says before the officer says he's going to give her a ticket.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott told CNN he was "really sad to see how Ms. Wright was treated."
It "seemed unnecessary to approach Ms. Wright," Elliott said noting that "whatever was happening in the police situation that they were dealing with, had largely subsided."
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.