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Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, will lead the prosecution in the death of Daunte Wright. Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter in his death.
“Daunte Wright’s death was a tragedy. He should not have died on the day that he did. He should not have died the way that he did,” Ellison said.
According to CBS News, Governor Tim Walz hosted the Wright family at the Governor’s Residence. The Governor said that the Wright family wants justice for their family.
“No verdict will bring Daunte back to his family, but I have full faith that Attorney General Ellison will build the best team possible to pursue accountability for what happened that tragic day,” Walz said.
Initially, the case was being handled by Washington County Attorney Pete Orput but he opted out after being pressured by activists to charge Potter with more serious charges. Ellison took the case at the request of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
“I believe that the review and the prosecution of this case and cases like it belongs with the Attorney General, and I call on the Legislature to provide all the funding necessary so that his office can do this work,” Orput said.
Orput said that was challenged with frequent demonstrations outside of his home.
Attorney General Matthew Frank will supervise the case. Frank was a trial attorney in the case against Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, that killed George Floyd.
“I did not seek this prosecution and do not accept it lightly,” Ellison said. “I have had, and continue to have, confidence in how both County Attorney Orput and County Attorney Freeman have handled this case to date. …Prosecutors are ministers of justice. This means we must and will follow justice wherever it leads.”
Ellison said that he would handle the case responsibly and in line with the law.
“We are not destined to repeat history,” Ellison said. “Once again, we in Minnesota find ourselves at a moment where a deadly-force encounter with police have galvanized our grief and focused our attention. If prosecutors ensure that prosecutions are vigorous and swift, if legislators at every level pass long-overdue reforms, if police leadership demonstrates misconduct has no place in the profession, and if community continues to keep up the cry for justice, we will break the cycle of history and establish a new standard for justice.”
