The City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, has agreed to pay $3.25 million to the family of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a now-convicted police officer during a traffic stop in 2021.
The $3.25 million is part of a settlement agreement reached with the City, an agreement which also includes changes to police policies, according to lawyers for Wright’s family on Tuesday.
“We hope Black families, people of color, and all residents feel safer now in Brooklyn Center because of the changes the city must make to resolve our claims,” Wright’s parents, Katie and Arbuey Wright said in a statement.
Brooklyn Center, population 33,000, is a northern Minneapolis suburb.
Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by then-Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021.
Potter pulled Wright over that day because he had expired tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Kim Potter and an officer-in-training tried to arrest Daunte Wright on an outstanding misdemeanor weapons warrant, to which he resisted.
There was a brief struggle after he got back in the car. Potter yelled “Taser!” but shot Wright with her handgun, killing him. Kim Potter, now 50, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree manslaughter in December, and a judge sentenced her to two years in prison in February.
According to the family’s lawyers, the settlement with Wright’s family will not be finalized until both parties reach an agreement on changes to police policies and training.
The family and attorneys of Daunte Wright expect the city to change traffic stop-related procedures and include training on implicit bias, de-escalation, mental health crisis, and weapons confusion. The agreement also calls for the construction of a permanent memorial to Daunte Wright in the city.
“There is no true justice for the Wrights because Daunte is never coming home,” attorney Jeff Storms said in the statement. “A guiding principle of our efforts was to strike a balance between holding Brooklyn Center accountable, while not undermining the financial stability of the city or limiting the services it provides.”