GRAPHIC VIDEO: ‘Possible Accidental Shooting’ by Police of Minneapolis Man, Says Chief

The Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer who allegedly shot and killed Duante Wright on Sunday may have done so accidentally, according to the police chief. The chief believes the officer may have intended to shoot Wright with a Taser but drew the service pistol accidentally. The above image depicts the second before the trigger on the service pistol was apparently pulled.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters on Monday that he believes the officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Duante Wright intended to use a Taser and not their pistol, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. The shooting occurred as Wright attempted to get back into his car after officers attempted to arrest him for an outstanding warrant.

Brooklyn Center is a suburb of Minneapolis where the George Floyd murder trial is currently underway.

“It is my belief that the officer had their intention to deploy the Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet,” Chief Gannon explained during a Monday news conference. The chief said he believes the shooting was an “accidental discharge.”

The chief said an independent investigation is underway.

The police officer’s bodycam video above, tweeted by the Daily Caller, shows a struggle breaking out as an officer attempts to place handcuffs on Wright for an alleged misdemeanor warrant for his arrest. As the struggle ensues, another officer’s pistol appears pointed at Wright. A female officer yells, “I’ll tase you, I’ll tase you. Seconds later, the officer yells “Taser, Taser, Taser” shortly before the pistol is fired.

“Holy (expletive)! I shot him,” the officer says after apparently discharging the pistol instead of a Taser.

The shooting led to a night of protests and looting as people took to the streets of the suburban community in anger over the shooting, Breitbart News reported.

Wright drove a few blocks away before crashing into another vehicle.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott told reporters he would “fully support releasing the officer of her duties.”

“We are all collectively devastated and we have been for over a year now, by the killing of George Floyd, and we continue to be stressed as we go through the Derek Chauvin trial,” Elliott continued. “So, having a police-involved shooting happening in our community and killing a young man is heartbreaking and just unfathomable.”