President Joe Biden delayed his personal reaction to the police shooting in Minneapolis after watching a press conference from local police officials Monday.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…,” Biden repeated after reporters questioned him about the shooting. “Hang on just a second. … wait a second.”
Earlier in the afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the press briefing that President Biden would publicly address the shooting during a video conference meeting with CEOs to address the shortage of semiconductor chips.
But Biden was several minutes late for his appearance at the White House and he said he was not prepared to make a statement.
He said he watched the Minnesota police department press conference detailing the shooting earlier in the afternoon and would spend more time preparing his statement before sharing his public reaction.
“I’m preparing a statement and I’ll be happy to talk with you at the next meeting, ok?” Biden replied to reporters.
“Thank you, sir,” a reporter replied.
Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon released video camera footage from the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright on Monday afternoon, noting a veteran police officer accidentally drew her gun instead of a Taser to react to the man resisting arrest.
“This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officer’s reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge,” Gannon said during his press conference.
Earlier in the afternoon, Psaki said the White House was “incredibly saddened” by news of the shooting, referring to the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“We’re incredibly saddened to hear about the loss of life at the hands of law enforcement in Minnesota yesterday,” she said and said the president had reached out to local leaders in Minnesota.
“It is a reminder of the pain, the anger, the trauma, the exhaustion that many communities across the country have felt as we see these incidents continue to occur within just a few miles of where the tragic events just happened just a year ago,” she continued.