The nation in brief: Daunte Wright’s mom has police run-in

Katie Wright (center) stands beside activist Toshira Garraway and her son, Damik Bryant, during a news conference Thursday outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, Minn.
(AP/Star Tribune/Aaron Lavinsky)
Katie Wright (center) stands beside activist Toshira Garraway and her son, Damik Bryant, during a news conference Thursday outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (AP/Star Tribune/Aaron Lavinsky)

Daunte Wright's mom has police run-in

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. -- The mother of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by a suburban Minneapolis police officer, said she was injured while she was briefly detained by one of the same department's officers after she stopped to record an arrest of a person during a traffic stop.

Katie Wright said Thursday that she was worried about what the Brooklyn Center officers might do to the person being handcuffed when she pulled over Wednesday night. In April 2021, her 20-year-old son, who was Black, was killed during a traffic stop by Kim Potter, a white officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser.

"All I was doing was my civic duty to pull over and make sure that those babies got home safe to their families, because I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other families," Wright said.

Police released body-camera video that shows an officer crossing several lanes of highway traffic and asking Wright for her driver's license. She refused, telling the officer she didn't need to show him her license because she hadn't been pulled over.

The officer then pulled her out of her vehicle, took her phone and placed it on the roof of her car before leading her toward the median while holding her arm behind her back. Wright said the officer grabbed her so forcefully that he injured her wrist.

She told the officer her name and said, "You guys killed my son. I'm going to videotape them," gesturing to police. The officer told Wright he would send her a ticket in the mail and both returned to their vehicles.

Police union president Chuck Valleau praised the officer for what he called a "professional response and restraint during the incident."

The Police Department released a statement saying the video footage was released "in an effort to promote public safety and dispel widespread rumor or unrest."

Ex-officer gets 5-year term for assault

DENVER -- A former Colorado police officer shown on body-camera video roughly arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia and later seen joking about it with colleagues was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison.

Austin Hopp arrested Karen Garner in 2020 after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items in Loveland. The police video shows that after she turned away from him, he grabbed her arm and pushed her to the ground, still holding the flowers she had been picking as she walked through a field.

Hopp had faced anywhere from probation up to eight years behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree assault in March under a plea deal that was opposed by Garner's family.

The footage shows that when Hopp had Garner pushed against the hood of his car, she tried to turn around and repeated that she was trying to go home. He then pushed her back against the car and moved her bent left arm up near her head, holding it, saying, "Are you finished? Are you finished? We don't play this game."

A federal lawsuit claimed he dislocated her shoulder. The city settled the suit for $3 million, which Garner's family has said will pay for the around-the-clock care she has required after her condition deteriorated following her arrest.

Air Force sergeant denies new charges

SPOKANE, Wash. -- An Air Force staff sergeant facing allegations of making violent, anti-government statements online before stealing ammunition from Fairchild Air Force Base has pleaded innocent to additional crimes in federal court in Spokane.

John Sanger, 30, is one of six service members named in an indictment handed down this week by a federal grand jury, charging them with crimes including theft of government property, possession of stolen ammunition and possession of an unregistered firearm.

The Spokesman-Review reported that authorities were alerted to Sanger by social media posts he allegedly made between the 2020 election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The poster, using the moniker "problematicpatriot," expressed the belief that the election system had been "defrauded" and "people have to die."

Sanger appeared in court Thursday to answer the new charges, with a potential penalty of up to a decade in federal prison. He waived his right to a hearing to argue for release pending trial and was returned to the Spokane County jail.

Boy, 2, recovering after coyote attack

DALLAS -- A 2-year-old boy who was attacked by a coyote on the porch of his Dallas home is recovering after surgery, and officials searching for the animal said Thursday that three coyotes that were acting aggressively have been killed.

The boy's father, Newton Thomas, said his son underwent several hours of surgery and was in stable condition. He had been in critical condition after the attack Tuesday morning.

Brett Johnson, an urban biologist with Dallas Park and Recreation, said that when incidents like this happen, wild animals are usually being fed in the area, either intentionally or not.

"Don't feed the wildlife," he said.


  photo  Katie Wright holds the hand on her injured wrist before a news conference Thursday, May 5, 2022 outside the Brooklyn Center Police Station in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Katie Wright, the mother of Daunte Wright, said she was injured while she was briefly detained by one of the same department’s officers after she stopped to record an arrest of a person during a traffic stop. (Aaron Lavinsky /Star Tribune via AP)
 
 

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