Daunte Wright’s family reaches $3.25M settlement, city agrees to change policy on traffic stops

Wright’s family members “hope and believe the measures of change to policing, policies and training will create important improvements to the community in Daunte’s name.”

The family of Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer, has settled with the city.

The city of Brooklyn Center will pay the family $3.25 million and has also agreed to change policies and improve training related to traffic stops — particularly those associated with equipment violations that do not interfere with the safety of the driver, passenger, or members of the community, according to a report from the Star Tribune.

According to the family’s co-counsel Antonio M. Romanucci, Wright’s family members “hope and believe the measures of change to policing, policies and training will create important improvements to the community in Daunte’s name.”

A demonstrator holds up a portrait of Daunte Wright outside the Hennepin County Government Center during the sentencing hearing for former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter on February 18, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Potter was convicted on two counts of manslaughter in the killing of Wright last year. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

“Nothing can bring him back, but the family hopes his legacy is a positive one and prevents any other family from enduring the type of grief they will live with for the rest of their lives,” Romanucci added.

The agreement is “believed to be” the third-largest civil rights wrongful death settlement of its kind in Minnesota, per the Star Tribune. 

Wright was shot and killed on April 11, 2021, when he was pulled over by Potter who claimed that she was reaching for her Taser but fired her service weapon instead. Potter was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison.

Wright’s death came just hours after the announcement of the guilty verdict in the case of Derek Chauvin who was convicted of murdering George Floyd in May of 2020. Wright’s death sparked another round of protests against police violence in the state of Minnesota.

Reforms were enacted in Brooklyn Center including adding social workers and other trained professionals to respond to social-needs calls, and the city will establish a new department to oversee public safety.

Story continues

Protesters write Daunte Wright’s name in the snow on the third day of jury deliberation outside of the Hennepin County Government Center on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, in Minneapolis. Former Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter, who is white, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting of Wright, a Black motorist, in the suburb of Brooklyn Center. Potter has said she meant to use her Taser – but grabbed her handgun instead – after Wright tried to drive away as officers were arresting him. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)

Co-counsel Jeff Storms of the Newmark Storms Dworak law firm based in Minneapolis said, “The financial component of this settlement cannot come close to compensating the family for their loss, yet the comparative cost for and commitment by the city reflects a commitment to accountability for this small community.”

“We hope Black families, people of color, and all residents feel safer now in Brooklyn Center because of the changes the city must make to resolve our claims,” said Wright’s parents, Katie and Aubrey Wright, last month. “It is vital to us that the city fulfill its good-faith commitment to fully funding and implementing the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution.”

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