The people in Minnesota have no reason to be rioting. If Daunte Wright had not tried to escape he would be alive today.
Had he not resisted the weapon mistake would never have happened.
Now one life is gone and another will haunted and ruined forever, the root cause being resisting arrest. Pure and simple as that. Personal responsibility.
Sam Lewallen, Jr.
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Actually, Duante Wright was given the opportunity to evade and resist because the lead officer handcuffing Wright paused in the process of cuffing him. Look at the video. The officer had Duante’s wrists crossed behind him. Then a different officer speaking to him over the roof of the vehicle momentarily diverted the lead officer’s attention and he paused the cuffing process. He took the cuffs away from Duante’s wrists and with a single hand held the hands and wrists loosely, prompting Duante to break custody and jump into his car.
Had the lead officer finished his job, had not paused in the cuffing process, Duante would be alive. There would not have been the opportunity to evade, the momentary crux of an accidental discharge of a weapon, no riots or hysterical finger-pointing by BLM activists.
One officer’s failure to keep his eye on the ball allowed this tragedy to unravel, and it wasn’t Kim Potter. There is shared complicity here and I’m wondering why no one else has brought this up.
Dave Fihn
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You are correct in that actions have reactions, but it’s not as “plain and simple” as you write. In fact, former officer Kim Potter’s reaction was not justified, as fleeing, eluding or resisting arrest does not warrant lethal force.
The “root cause” and responsibility for the death falls on the officer that made a fatal error in protocol. Accident or not, she must be held accountable.
Alex Rose