MINNEAPOLIS — The mother of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer last year, is criticizing one of the department's officers for briefly detaining her after she stopped on the side of a highway to record an arrest during a traffic stop.
Brooklyn Center police were assisting another law enforcement agency Wednesday night in what the department described in a news release as a "high-risk" stop related to a homicide investigation around 8:10 p.m. on the side of Highway 252 southbound north of 66th Avenue.
Seeing a cluster of police cars, Katie Wright said she pulled over on the northbound side of the highway, opened her car door and started recording the interaction on her phone because she was concerned the people involved could be hurt by police.
At a news conference outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Thursday, Wright said she was motivated by worry about what the officers might do.
"All I was doing was my civic duty to pull over and make sure that those babies got home safe to their families because I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other families," Wright said.
Her arm bandaged, Wright said the officer grabbed her so forcefully that her wrist was injured. The Brooklyn Center Police Department released bodycam footage that spans less than two minutes of the incident in which the officer can be seen leading Wright away from her vehicle as he held her arm behind her back.
Along with the video, the Police Department released a statement: "The release of the footage is in an effort to promote public safety and dispel widespread rumor or unrest."
Wright said, "If you're not OK with somebody recording you while you're doing your job, then you do not need to be a police officer."
In a prepared statement, Brooklyn Center police union President Chuck Valleaupraised the officer for what he called a "professional response and restraint during the incident."
In the footage, officers can be seen loading a handcuffed person into a squad car when the suspect noticed Wright and said they didn't want to be filmed.
The officer wearing the camera then says, "She's getting a ticket." Another replies "Nah, don't worry about it. Come on." The officer then crosses several lanes of traffic over to Wright and asks for her driver's license.
When Wright tells the officer she doesn't need to show him her license since she had not been pulled over, he replies: "You're going to give me your driver's license or I'm going to take you to jail for obstruction."
He then pulls her out of the vehicle by her arm, takes the phone out of her hands and sets it on the roof of her car and pulls her towards the grassy median.
"You know who I am, right? My name is Katie Wright ... and you guys killed my son. I'm going to videotape them," she said, gesturing to the cluster of police vehicles. "If you take me to jail, I will sue you."
The officer tells her she can't be on the side of the road. Wright tells the officer to not touch her again.
"Katie Wright, I'll send you a ticket in the mail," he says. When Wright says to send her a ticket, the officer responds, "Then I'm going to send you another one."
Wright then goes back to her vehicle, and the officer back to his.
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