COURIER LIFE, APRIL 16-22, 2021 3
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK &
CAROLINE OURSO
Brooklynites took to the
streets this week to protest
the police killing of Duante
Wright in Minnesota, echoing
calls for justice and police reform
across the country.
Offi cers shot Wright, a 20-
year-old Black man, on April
11 during a routine traffi c
stop just a few miles from
where Derek Chauvin, the former
Minneapolis police offi -
cer charged with murdering
George Floyd, is on trial.
The shooting, which apparently
occurred after the
offi cer mistook her fi rearm
for a taser, sent shockwaves
through Minnesota and, like
Floyd’s death, inspired racial
justice protests and demonstrations
across the city.
On Monday night, more
than 100 people gathered at
Grand Army Plaza for what
organizing group Riders for
Black Lives — a collective led
by Black women cycling to effect
change — called an “emergency
action.” The group then
marched down Flatbush Avenue
in the pouring rain while
renewing calls to defund the
NYPD.
The next day, the same
group organized outside of the
Barclays Center, where close
to 100 cyclists gathered before
taking off on a memorial ride
for Wright.
For Crown Heights resident
Stewart Mitchell, the April 13
ride was especially poignant.
“We’re here to say enough
is enough,” said Mitchell, telling
press that, while Wright
was pulled over for having
expired plates, the confrontation
escalated when cops saw
what could have been an air
freshener hanging from his
rearview mirror — something
Mitchell himself has been
pulled over for.
“How long can they let this
happen?” he asked. “I don’t
know what tomorrow will
bring, especially as a father.”
Brooklyn politicians
have also spoken out against
Wright’s killing. Councilmember
Farah Louis — who represents
the neighborhoods of
East Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatlands,
Marine Park, and Midwood
and is the co-chair of the
Council’s Black, Latino, and
Asian Caucus — maintained
that Wright’s killing plays
into a “perpetual cycle of violence”
that leaves people unable
to properly mourn.
“Although we are forced
to live in fear, we will persist
with peaceful protests calling
for police accountability because
Black lives matter – period,”
she said.
In an appearance on Hot 97
radio station Monday, Mayor
Bill de Blasio said the incident
— in which local police say offi
cer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran
of the force, “mistakenly”
fi red a gun at Wright instead
of using her taser — must be
fully investigated.
“You know, we got to ask
ourselves the question, what
the hell’s going on. Why are
people allowed to be police offi
cers if they don’t know how
to handle their weapon?” de
Blasio said. “It’s not something
that a weapon should
have ever been involved in.”
Councilmember and City
Comptroller candidate Brad
Lander — who attended the
kick-off of Tuesday’s ride for
Wright — has renewed calls to
take traffi c enforcement from
the Police Department and
give it to the city’s Department
of Transportation.
“No one should die over a
traffi c stop,” Lander said.
Brooklynites gather at Grand Army
Plaza to demand justice for Duante
Wright. Andy Ratto
Protesters gather at the Barclays Center on April 13 for a bike ride in
memory of Daunte Wright who was fatally shot by a police offi cer in Minnesota
on April 11. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Calling for justice
Brooklynites protest police killing of Duante Wright