Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was killed rejects police reform policy on traffic stops

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The city council of the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright, a Black man, was killed by police in a 2021 traffic stop has rejected a resolution that would have limited when officers can pull over drivers.

The Brooklyn Center City Council rejected the measure on a 3-2 vote Monday, the Star Tribune reported.

The proposed police reform policy would have prevented officers from stopping drivers solely for violations such as having inoperative windshield wipers, a cracked windshield, excessive window tinting, a noisy muffler, an improperly displayed or expired license plate or permit sticker, or for having broken or improperly used headlights, taillights or turn signals.

Wright was pulled over in Brooklyn Center for having expired license tags and a dangling air freshener. He was shot when the officer, reaching for her Taser, instead grabbed her gun.

Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, lambasted the council on Monday following the decision.

“You guys are some sorry people, and people are going to die because you won’t do the right thing,” she said with tears flowing. “I have been fighting for three years. My son has been dead for two years and nine months and you say no to a policy that is going to protect people.”

Before the vote, Mayor April Graves, who is also a council member, said the recommendations were the result of hours of research and many conversations with community, staff and council.

Graves and councilmember Marquita Butler voted in favor of the resolution, but three other members — Dan Jerzak, Teneshia Kragness and Kris Lawrence-Anderson — voted against it.

Asked for comment, Jerzak and Kragness referred the AP to City Manager Reginald Edwards, who did not respond to an email and phone message. Lawrence-Anderson did not respond to a phone message.