After Daunte Wright shooting, city council approves resolution on police changes – Everett Post

Everett

(BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn.) – Officials in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, the city where Daunte Wright was fatally shot during a traffic obstruction last month, have passed a resolution aimed at making significant changes to policing.

The Brooklyn Center City Council met Saturday afternoon to discuss a proposal, called Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler, to create new sections of unarmed civilian workers to deal with immovable traffic violations and respond to mental crises.

Wright, a black 20-year-old father, was shot in the chest on April 11 during a traffic obstruction. Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter, who is white, is charged with second degree manslaughter in his death.

After two hours of at times emotional public statements, including from parents whose children were killed by the police, as well as statements from the Wright and Dimock-Heisler families, the council voted 4 to 1 in favor of the resolution. The councilor who voted against Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she felt the council needed more time to think about it.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, who is a member of the city council, drafted and introduced the resolution last week to “change our public safety,” he said.

“We are taking a bold step here, this city,” Elliott said at the city council meeting on Saturday before the vote. “But we can do it. We will do it. “

The proposal seeks to establish a new Community Response Department where unarmed, trained medical, mental and social workers will respond to calls regarding medical, mental, disabled, and other behavioral needs.

An unarmed civil traffic enforcement department for immobile traffic violations will be established.

In the Wright case, he was stopped by the police for expired tags. It escalated when officers realized Wright had a pending arrest warrant, said then-Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

Daunte Wright’s mother asked the city council to pass the resolution.

“I firmly believe that our son would be with us today if this were done before April 11th,” said Katie Wright at the pre-vote meeting in the Council.

The mother of Dimock-Heisler, a 21-year-old man on the autism spectrum who was fatally shot and killed by Brooklyn Center officials while calling over domestic unrest last year, also spoke out in favor of the resolution.

“We don’t have time to wait,” Amity Dimock told council members. “There aren’t many things I know for sure in this life, but I do know for sure that Daunte Wright would be alive today and Kob Heisler would be alive today if such measures had been passed sooner. I know that for sure. “

The resolution also seeks to establish a community security and violence prevention department that will oversee the police, fire brigade, traffic monitoring department and the community response department.

It would also introduce a “citation and subpoena” policy requiring officers to only issue quotes and prohibit arrests and vehicle searches for non-moving traffic violations, non-crime and non-crime warrants.

Civilian committees are also established to review police responses to protests and policies and to make recommendations.

The Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union called the proposed changes “an important first step” in changing policing, The Associated Press reported.

However, the resolution received backlash from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc., and the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association. Police groups alleged the proposal was contrary to state law in a letter to city officials.

On Friday, the city’s attorney responded to these concerns in a memo to the city council, saying, “The passage of the law sets goals and obliges the city to work to achieve them, but is not a final measure.”