Why This Keeps Happening in Minneapolis

Even as it reels from the continuing trial of Derek Chauvin, Minneapolis is again mourning the death of a Black man killed by the police. On Sunday, a 20-year-old father, Daunte Wright, was pulled over in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of the city. When police reportedly tried to arrest him for an outstanding warrant, he sought to reenter his vehicle. One of the officers, Kim Potter, shouted “Taser, Taser, Taser!” and then fired one round into Wright’s body. The officer has since resigned and will be charged with manslaughter.

In Brooklyn Center, the National Guard was deployed, businesses were boarded up within hours, and protesters have maintained a steady presence outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department. To understand what’s happening on the ground, I called Toussaint Morrison, a prominent organizer in the area who has been helping lead marches in the Twin Cities. We spoke about why this time feels different, whether or not people believe the officer made a mistake, and what short- and long-term goals he and other protesters have in the wake of Wright’s killing.

Aymann Ismail: What is happening in Brooklyn Center right now?

Toussaint Morrison: The energy outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department is high. I was down there, and it is people absolutely fed up. I can’t speak for everybody, but I will say we were all promised justice for George. And before we can even see justice for him, they add another name to the docket. Whatever energy people were preserving for whatever verdict was going to come out of the Derek Chauvin trial, it feels like that has been redirected toward the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Righteously.