Daunte Wright shot with Taser. And by "taser," I mean, "Gun."

[ZiprHead]

It is highly doubtful that Wright was pulled over for an outstanding warrant. The police were probably just on a fishing expedition or bored and used the expired tags as a pretext to pull over someone. They run your plates and license AFTER they pull you over.

That's not how it works around here.
Expired plates get attention. The first thing the cops do is run the plates. If they're registered to someone with an outstanding warrant, the car gets pulled over.
Expired plates is not a pretext. They're an infraction. Suggesting other infractions, from no insurance to an unlicensed driver. In this case, they were registered to criminal with a history of violence and illegal gun ownership and an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. The cops knew all this before they started to pull the car over.

This happened in October 2020, the heighth of covid. Many of our SoS/DMV offices were closed and police were instructed to not deal with expired/no plates. I doubt it wasn't a similar situation at the time in MN.

 

[Toni]

It is highly doubtful that Wright was pulled over for an outstanding warrant. The police were probably just on a fishing expedition or bored and used the expired tags as a pretext to pull over someone. They run your plates and license AFTER they pull you over.

That's not how it works around here.
Expired plates get attention. The first thing the cops do is run the plates. If they're registered to someone with an outstanding warrant, the car gets pulled over.
Expired plates is not a pretext. They're an infraction. Suggesting other infractions, from no insurance to an unlicensed driver. In this case, they were registered to criminal with a history of violence and illegal gun ownership and an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. The cops knew all this before they started to pull the car over.

This happened in October 2020, the heighth of covid. Many of our SoS/DMV offices were closed and police were instructed to not deal with expired/no plates. I doubt it wasn't a similar situation at the time in MN.

You're right. I didn't go back and double check the dates but a lot of states' DMVs were closed/very slow and there was a general laxity in enforcement over expired plates. In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

So his death was even more stupid.

 

[TomC]

I've been pulled over a number of times for violating the speed limit. I know that they ran my plates and my license after I

Did you know that they ran your plates before they pulled you over?
Did you have an outstanding warrant?
Were you credibly accused of possessing an illegal firearm?

If your answer to any or all of these questions is "No", then your anecdote is irrelevant.

Then there's another question. You're white and female, IIRC. I don't know when this happened, so I'll stick with "over a certain age" at the time.
Black males Wright's age are statistically about 60 times more likely to commit a violent act than middle aged white women*. That doesn't mean that any particular YBM is extremely violent. But it's statistically relevant, if a cop is trying to do their job and also get home alive to their family.
Tom

*This is based on FBI statistics, published online, from 2014.

 

[TomC]

In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

Wright wasn't stopped for having expired plates.
He was stopped because the plates were registered to a criminal with an outstanding warrant.
Tom

ETA ~Wright wasn't stopped. A car was stopped. Subtle, but important, distinction.~

 

[Toni]

I've been pulled over a number of times for violating the speed limit. I know that they ran my plates and my license after I

Did you know that they ran your plates before they pulled you over?
Did you have an outstanding warrant?
Were you credibly accused of possessing an illegal firearm?

If your answer to any or all of these questions is "No", then your anecdote is irrelevant.

Then there's another question. You're white and female, IIRC. I don't know when this happened, so I'll stick with "over a certain age" at the time.
Black males Wright's age are statistically about 60 times more likely to commit a violent act than middle aged white women*. That doesn't mean that any particular YBM is extremely violent. But it's statistically relevant, if a cop is trying to do their job and also get home alive to their family.
Tom

*This is based on FBI statistics, published online, from 2014.

I know darn well they didn’t run my plates before I was pulled over. It was my car, I was driving it and the plates, registration, etc. were all in order. Whoever they were looking for would not have been in my car.

Yes, I am aware that I belong to a demographic that is considered low risk. Frankly, I used to have what is known as a lead foot. I am reformed in that regard, largely because I no longer have the same time pressures and I usually get more sleep.

I’m extremely aware that being white and living at certain addresses and speaking with a certain kind of accent and using good grammar tends to get you a lot of leniency. I have a criminal relative who got by with a lot of stuff for years until he finally got caught doing something bad enough. Before that, police would bring him home to his parents’ house after he crashed his car into a tree, no matter how drunk (and under age) he was. If he were black? I don’t like his chances for living long enough to do the shot he did later. But I’m not sorry that he wasn’t killed by the police.

There has been a great deal of discussion on this board about all the reasons young black men are arrested at such high rates, often for offenses that White people are not charged with. This starts as early as preschool when children are reprimanded and punished more severely for more minor infractions than their white counterparts. This only escalated throughout schooling. Perhaps you’ve never witnessed a child unfairly scapegoated but I have, as a child.

The truth is that police are very upfront about the fact that if they follow anybody long enough, that person will commit a traffic offense. That’s you and me and anybody else who is driving.

Daunte Wright was pulled over while driving his brother’s car. It was his brother’s car which had expired plates and the illegal air freshener. Are you saying that he was mistaken for his brother?

 

[TomC]

I know darn well they didn’t run my plates before I was pulled over.

How do you know that?
Maybe you do.

Frankly, I'm glad I don't have much experience with police protocols.
Tom

 

[Gospel]

In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

Wright wasn't stopped for having expired plates.
He was stopped because the plates were registered to a criminal with an outstanding warrant.
Tom

ETA ~Wright wasn't stopped. A car was stopped. Subtle, but important, distinction.~

TomC my friend you've been misinformed. He was stopped for a traffic violation. That stop lead to him being identified and traced to a warrant for his arrest. For the record, it WAS NOT a felony warrant it was a gross misdemeanor warrant. Both you and Derec seem to believe he was a convicted felon and he wasn't. A good person? I have my doubts about that, but a convicted felon he was not.

 

[Toni]

I know darn well they didn’t run my plates before I was pulled over.

How do you know that?
Maybe you do.

Frankly, I'm glad I don't have much experience with police protocols.
Tom

I know because they were shocked to see me behind the wheel of the car. I am the only driver of my car. The car is registered in my name.

But tbh, when I say I know, I mean: it seemed pretty obvious to me that they had not run my plates because if they had, they would have expected an older white lady behind the wheel. Although I will say that I was almost always taken for 10+ years younger than my actual age.....

 

[Toni]

In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

Wright wasn't stopped for having expired plates.
He was stopped because the plates were registered to a criminal with an outstanding warrant.
Tom

ETA ~Wright wasn't stopped. A car was stopped. Subtle, but important, distinction.~

TomC my friend you've been misinformed. He was stopped for a traffic violation. That stop lead to him being identified and traced to a warrant for his arrest. For the record, it WAS NOT a felony warrant it was a gross misdemeanor warrant. Both you and Derec seem to believe he was a convicted felon and he wasn't. A good person? I have my doubts about that, but a convicted felon he was not.

I can't imagine how they came to such a wrong conclusion.

 

[TomC]

In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

Wright wasn't stopped for having expired plates.
He was stopped because the plates were registered to a criminal with an outstanding warrant.
Tom

ETA ~Wright wasn't stopped. A car was stopped. Subtle, but important, distinction.~

TomC my friend you've been misinformed. He was stopped for a traffic violation. That stop lead to him being identified and traced to a warrant for his arrest. For the record, it WAS NOT a felony warrant it was a gross misdemeanor warrant. Both you and Derec seem to believe he was a convicted felon and he wasn't. A good person? I have my doubts about that, but a convicted felon he was not.

I never said felon. I said criminal.

I was wrong about the owner of the illegal vehicle. Apparently. I don't care enough to research that tiny issue.

Wright is dead because he chose to jump towards a car. He chose that fatal mistake. Like many other mistakes he chose over the years. That's my point.
Tom

 

[Gospel]

Wright is dead because he chose to jump towards a car.

Hogwash. If the officer did not mistake her Pistol for her Taser he'd likely be alive.

 

[TomC]

Wright is dead because he chose to jump towards a car.

Hogwash. If the officer did not mistake her Pistol for her Taser he'd likely be alive.

If he hadn't jumped towards the car, a place he'd likely keep a gun, while being arrested for an outstanding warrant, he'd likely be alive. He wouldn't have been shot by anything.
He picked getting shot.
Tom

 

[Gospel]

If he hadn't jumped towards the car, a place he'd likely keep a gun, while being arrested for an outstanding warrant, he'd likely be alive. He wouldn't have been shot by anything.
He picked getting shot.
Tom

NO, he didn't. He picked getting tased. Because that's what Officer Potter yelled over and over.

 

[Toni]

In my area, it was announced that there would be no traffic stops for expired plates.

Wright wasn't stopped for having expired plates.
He was stopped because the plates were registered to a criminal with an outstanding warrant.
Tom

ETA ~Wright wasn't stopped. A car was stopped. Subtle, but important, distinction.~

TomC my friend you've been misinformed. He was stopped for a traffic violation. That stop lead to him being identified and traced to a warrant for his arrest. For the record, it WAS NOT a felony warrant it was a gross misdemeanor warrant. Both you and Derec seem to believe he was a convicted felon and he wasn't. A good person? I have my doubts about that, but a convicted felon he was not.

I never said felon. I said criminal.

I was wrong about the owner of the illegal vehicle. Apparently. I don't care enough to research that tiny issue.

Wright is dead because he chose to jump towards a car. He chose that fatal mistake. Like many other mistakes he chose over the years. That's my point.
Tom

Or if he had stayed home in bed that day. Or if Potter had or had called in sick. If her trainee hadn't been such a hot shot that he wanted to pull over a vehicle for a minor infraction that was being ignored widely in the state because COVID made it extremely difficult to renew tags.

He was 20 which means he didn't have as much sense yet as you or I probably have. Unlike us, his interactions with police were probably far less positive. I was taught that police were there to help you. I assume you were taught the same. This is not what ANY black parent, including those holding MDs JDs PhDs, Emmys or Oscars or Nobels or any other kind of degree or award you can think of tell their sons--and daughters.

 

[Gospel]

I'm very happy to know that our justice system for the most part doesn't rely on what-ifs but relies on evidence.

 

[Gospel]

Speaking of evidence. I wonder what evidence the police had on Daunte Wright for the "alleged" armed robbery (a felony)? It's strange that the court went with a gross misdemeanor warrant for someone facing felony charges.

SUS

Edit: I know it was for the "alleged" gun possession. I'm just saying that he was still suspected of armed robbery.

 

[Toni]

Speaking of evidence. I wonder what evidence the police had on Daunte Wright for the "alleged" armed robbery (a felony)? It's strange that the court went with a gross misdemeanor warrant for someone facing felony charges.

SUS

Edit: I know it was for the "alleged" gun possession. I'm just saying that he was still suspected of armed robbery.

I've also wondered about that.....

 

[barbos]

Speaking of evidence. I wonder what evidence the police had on Daunte Wright for the "alleged" armed robbery (a felony)? It's strange that the court went with a gross misdemeanor warrant for someone facing felony charges.

SUS

Edit: I know it was for the "alleged" gun possession. I'm just saying that he was still suspected of armed robbery.

I am not sure I am following you here. Are you saying all that info about him being basically career criminal is fake? Or are you saying police people did not know that at the time of the shooting?

What are you trying to say?

 

[Derec]

Speaking of evidence. I wonder what evidence the police had on Daunte Wright for the "alleged" armed robbery (a felony)? It's strange that the court went with a gross misdemeanor warrant for someone facing felony charges.

According to this, he was charged with the robbery in 2019. But the warrant was for a later, unrelated gun case and him skipping a Zoom court hearing.
The case:

I am going to go out on a limb and say that the listed date of birth is a typo.
The question is, why was he not held without bail after he broke bail conditions previously?

 

[Derec]

Or if he had stayed home in bed that day.

Would probably had been a good idea.

If her trainee hadn't been such a hot shot that he wanted to pull over a vehicle for a minor infraction that was being ignored widely in the state because COVID made it extremely difficult to renew tags.

Joel Rifkin (was just watching "The Masseuse" episode of Seinfeld) and Timothy McVeigh were both caught because they were stopped for license plate violations. What's wrong with stopping somebody for what is a violation and checking for warrants?
I have said this many times, but never received an adequate response. The Left talks a big game against guns, but then is opposed to measures that can actually lead to arrest of gun criminals like Wright.

He was 20 which means he didn't have as much sense yet as you or I probably have.

Having no sense is not an excuse to run around robbing people or waving illegal guns around.

Unlike us, his interactions with police were probably far less positive.

Occupational hazard for thugs.

I was taught that police were there to help you. I assume you were taught the same. This is not what ANY black parent, including those holding MDs JDs PhDs, Emmys or Oscars or Nobels or any other kind of degree or award you can think of tell their sons--and daughters.

And that sort of prejudice is a big part of the problem.
Of course, police are not there to protect the likes of Wright. Not because of his skin color, but because of the content of his character and his actions.