*Daunte Wright’s family attorney said they have received threats and racist messages following the death of the 20-year-old.
“There are concerns as far as safety for the family that we’re addressing,” attorney Thomas Bowers said at a press conference.
Daunte was fatally shot by former Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop earlier this month. Potter, 48, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter a day after she resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department. The fatal shooting of Wright set off protests in the Minneapolis suburb.
As we reported, Potter, a 26-year veteran, and Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned in the wake of the shooting. The city council also fired City Manager Curt Boganey over the incident.
According to Gannon, Daunte — who was unarmed — was attempting to flee a traffic stop and was the victim of an “accidental” shooting by Potter who thought she was reaching for her taser and not her gun. The police department released Potter’s body camera video and Potter is hearing shouting “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” before firing a single shot from her handgun.
Bower said he’s been receiving “racist” calls and emails from strangers, according to CNN.
READ MORE: Mother of Daunte Wright Says He Was ‘Scared’ During Last Phone Call Before Police Killed Him
At a press conference on Friday, Bowers noted that “There have been some threats to the family, which is disturbing.”
He added, “Some people are happy that she killed Daunte. So I always get a bunch of calls and emails that are pretty racist. And it’s a sad thing to see that.”
“It’s time to send the officer that killed him to jail and let justice be done,” Bowers continued.
Daunte’s mother, Katie Wright, spoke to her son on the phone minutes before his death. Appearing on “Good Morning America” alongside Daunte’s father Aubrey Wright, Katie said her son was “afraid of the police.”
“I know my son was scared. He’s afraid of the police, and I just seen and heard the fear in his voice. But I don’t know why, and it should have never escalated the way it did,” she told Robin Roberts in tears.
Aubrey said he “can’t accept” that a mistake resulted in the death of his son. “I lost my son; he’s never coming back. I can’t accept that. A mistake, that doesn’t even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I can’t accept that,” he said.
During the GMA interview, Katie recounted what she heard during her final phone call with her son.
“Daunte said, ‘For what, am I in trouble?’ I heard the phone getting put down pretty hard. … And then I heard scuffling and the girl that was with him screaming, and I heard an officer ask for them to hang up the phone and then I didn’t hear anything else,” she said. “I tried to call back three, four times and the girl that was with him answered the phone and she said that they shot him and he was lying in the driver’s seat unresponsive.”
“Then I heard an officer ask her to hang up the phone again and then after that, that’s the last time I’ve seen my son. I haven’t seen him since,” added Katie.
“He had a 2-year-old son that’s not going to be able to play basketball with him,” she added. “He had sisters and brothers that he loved so much. He just had his whole life taken away from him. We had our hearts pulled out of our chests. He was my baby.”
Potter’s second-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
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