MN - Daunte Wright, 20, fatally shot by police during traffic stop, Brooklyn Center, 11 April 2021

[imstilla.grandma]

NPR's Adrian Florido has been covering the trial of former Minneapolis police Derek Chauvin, which is taking place just miles from where Wright was killed. Wednesday was the second day for the defense to call witnesses in Chauvin's trial.
Minneapolis Lives In 'A State Of Continuous Trauma' After Another Police Killing : Consider This from NPR

 

[kittythehare]

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Wright’s mother said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.

During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying “Daunte, don’t run” before the call ended. Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun

An April 2 warrant for Wright's arrest.
Minnesota Court Records Online

Documents for two cases Insider reviewed are publicly available via a records website run by the Minnesota court system.

A probable-cause statement gives an account of the events that led to the issuing of a warrant for Wright's arrest.
Minnesota Court Records Online

A document from December 2019 noting a charge of aggravated robbery against Wright. He had been scheduled to appear in court in August.
Minnesota Court Records Online
Charges against Daunte Wright before his death have sparked anger and disinformation — here are the documents that explain what happened

That's it!
That's the one!

• Arthur Martinez, a public defender who represented Wright, told The Daily Beast that neither he nor Wright had ever seen that document. "He obviously didn't get it, and no one notified me," Martinez said.
• The last document, submitted on Tuesday, said the case was being dismissed because of Wright's death.

Neither Wright nor his lawyer had ever seen the notice to appear for the zoom hearing.
Wow!

And that is exactly what Mary Moriarty had surmised a few days ago. Accurately!.

In my mind this changes things.
If they had spoken with him, asked him about his failure to appear and if he had truthfully told them he did not 'fail to appear' but knew nothing at all about his supposed appearance and if they did not accept his version it could well have informed his decision to just get back in that car.

I thought it was strange because he had shown up for all his other charges.

Again, if an attempt was made to de-escalate, would it ever have ended as it did?

 

[Gibbo214]

That's it!
That's the one!

• Arthur Martinez, a public defender who represented Wright, told The Daily Beast that neither he nor Wright had ever seen that document. "He obviously didn't get it, and no one notified me," Martinez said.
• The last document, submitted on Tuesday, said the case was being dismissed because of Wright's death.

Neither Wright nor his lawyer had ever seen the notice to appear for the zoom hearing.
Wow!

And that is exactly what Mary Moriarty had surmised a few days ago. Accurately!.

In my mind this changes things.
If they had spoken with him, asked him about his failure to appear and if he had truthfully told them he did not 'fail to appear' but knew nothing at all about his supposed appearance and if they did not accept his version it could well have informed his decision to just get back in that car.

I thought it was strange because he had shown up for all his other charges.

Again, if an attempt was made to de-escalate, would it ever have ended as it did?

And the circumstances of that crime have differed. In one version of it, he and another person had slept over at the women's house and she had gone to get rent money and he grabbed her around the neck and demanded it. In another version he forced his way into the house at gunpoint and forced her to give him the money.

 

[kittythehare]

And the circumstances of that crime have differed. In one version of it, he and another person had slept over at the women's house and she had gone to get rent money and he grabbed her around the neck and demanded it. In another version he forced his way into the house at gunpoint and forced her to give him the money.

That is correct.
They didn't break in there according to the charging documents.
He didn't actually get any money though there were allegedly two of them and just one girl.
It was still in her bra once he had left.
It was also stated in that charging document that the gun appeared to be real. Not that it was.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Outside Potter’s home in Champlin, north of Brooklyn Center, concrete barricades and tall metal fencing had been set up and police cars were in the driveway.
...
Brooklyn Center, a suburb just north of Minneapolis, has seen its racial demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Hispanic.

However, the mayor has acknowledged that the police force has “very few people of color.”
Former Minnesota cop charged in shooting of Black motorist

Death of Daunte Wright

 

[Gibbo214]

If the police see a car with expired tags, you're getting pulled over. That is going to happen regardless of who you are. Then when the talked to him and got his DL info, the warrant would show up.

Yet, there have been several posters here who have who have stated that they have been driving with expired tags and in one case on an expired driving licence because offices have been closed due to Covid.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Yet, there have been several posters here who have who have stated that they have been driving with expired tags and in one case on an expired driving licence because offices have been closed due to Covid.

Yes, many states, including mine, cannot operate their DMVs at full capacity and we have all been given a grace period for all things expired that require the DMV.

 

[PrairieWind]

That's it!
That's the one!

• Arthur Martinez, a public defender who represented Wright, told The Daily Beast that neither he nor Wright had ever seen that document. "He obviously didn't get it, and no one notified me," Martinez said.
• The last document, submitted on Tuesday, said the case was being dismissed because of Wright's death.

Neither Wright nor his lawyer had ever seen the notice to appear for the zoom hearing.
Wow!

And that is exactly what Mary Moriarty had surmised a few days ago. Accurately!.

In my mind this changes things.
If they had spoken with him, asked him about his failure to appear and if he had truthfully told them he did not 'fail to appear' but knew nothing at all about his supposed appearance and if they did not accept his version it could well have informed his decision to just get back in that car.

I thought it was strange because he had shown up for all his other charges.

Again, if an attempt was made to de-escalate, would it ever have ended as it did?

I am unclear when the attorney says he had never seen "that document" if he is referring to the notice to appear, or the warrant.

 

[kittythehare]

I am unclear when the attorney says he had never seen "that document" if he is referring to the notice to appear, or the warrant.

There was only one outstanding warrant

The one outstanding warrant for Wright's arrest, Hennepin County authorities confirmed, was issued after the young man failed to appear for a hearing on April 2. The court date was to deal with a gross misdemeanor charge dating to last summer, when Wright allegedly got caught carrying a pistol without a permit and fled from a peace officer.

Arthur Martinez, a public defender who represented Wright, said he believed his client had never received notice of the scheduled appearance—and said that the court had not informed him either.

“He obviously didn’t get it, and no one notified me, and a date came up for April 2nd for 2:30 in the afternoon, and him not knowing about it, didn’t show up, and there was a warrant issued for his arrest,” said Martinez, who shared an image of the warrant with The Daily Beast that shows that the judge set bail at a $3,000 bond or $500 in cash.

The Hennepin County District Court maintained it sent a notice of the hearing to Wright's most recent address on file in March, and that it was never returned as undeliverable. A spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the court had contacted Martinez.
Police Chief Claims Cop Who Killed Minnesota Black Man Accidentally Fired Gun Instead of Taser

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The one outstanding warrant for Wright's arrest, Hennepin County authorities confirmed, was issued after the young man failed to appear for a hearing on April 2. The court date was to deal with a gross misdemeanor charge dating to last summer, when Wright allegedly got caught carrying a pistol without a permit and fled from a peace officer.

Arthur Martinez, a public defender who represented Wright, said he believed his client had never received notice of the scheduled appearance—and said that the court had not informed him either.

“He obviously didn’t get it, and no one notified me, and a date came up for April 2nd for 2:30 in the afternoon, and him not knowing about it, didn’t show up, and there was a warrant issued for his arrest,” said Martinez, who shared an image of the warrant with The Daily Beast that shows that the judge set bail at a $3,000 bond or $500 in cash.
Police Chief Claims Cop Who Killed Minnesota Black Man Accidentally Fired Gun Instead of Taser

*Expired license or air freshener violation? Confused...

 

[kittythehare]

@PrairieWind
My understanding of what his lawyer is saying is that he never saw the summons because he was not notified and only saw the warrant after the event.

I'm a bit confused because of this February 4th returned mail
https://www.scribd.com/document/502729363/Returned-Mail

 

[Gibbo214]

@PrairieWind
My understanding of what his lawyer is saying is that he never saw the summons because he was not notified and only saw the warrant after the event.

I'm a bit confused because of this February 4th returned mail
https://www.scribd.com/document/502729363/Returned-Mail

Is it usual to issue a summons with a hand addressed envelope?

 

[PrairieWind]

@PrairieWind
My understanding of what his lawyer is saying is that he never saw the summons because he was not notified and only saw the warrant after the event.

I'm a bit confused because of this February 4th returned mail
https://www.scribd.com/document/502729363/Returned-Mail

That was discussed earlier. That returned envelope is with his other court case, not the one where the warrant was issued out of.

 

[cocomod]

Hi there!

As an aside:

We have five children, and when they each became of driving age we stressed to each one if ever stopped by a police officer for any reason it was very important for them to calmly comply. I would think all parents have had this same conversation with their own children.

But I have some questions please Prairie Wind.

When an officer stops someone, and pulls up behind them where they can see their license plate would they know if the one they stopped has outstanding violations such vehicle violations?

Are they able to run information on the subject before the officer gets out of their vehicle such as having outstanding warrants or other criminal history?

TIA!

jmhoo

I don't think they would have had his warrant because the plates on the back were not his own. Also, his mom purchased the car for him, so it was likely registered in her name.


I have wondered about this case since we haven't seen the body cam from before the point of attempting to arrest. They said that the plates were expired, and some have yelled that they shouldn't have pulled him over for that alone because of the pandemic. However, we don't know how far past the registration was. His mom had just bought him the car, the plates on the car may have been from the previous owner. His "temp" plate was in the window, but not facing the back where the officer could see it (from what I read earlier). We don't know if this back plate that was ran was 2 years or more expired. We don't have all of the information in my opinion to decide if the stop was "over the top".

 

[kittythehare]

Is it usual to issue a summons with a hand addressed envelope?

I don't know.
Nor do I know whether it is customary in the state on MN to notify the lawyer at the same time as the accused?

This is very confusing.. I'm unable to unravel it without expert help.
If he wasn't notified, his getting back in the vehicle is understandable, if not wise, if he had attempted to explain to them and they refused to accept his explanation.
Tantrum,not worthy of a taser IMO.

We can leave the 2019 case aside because he had fulfilled all his obligations in that regard and next hearing was not due until August '21.

 

[Gibbo214]

That was discussed earlier. That returned envelope is with his other court case, not the one where the warrant was issued out of.

How could you know that?

 

[kittythehare]

That was discussed earlier. That returned envelope is with his other court case, not the one where the warrant was issued out of.

Is it normal to notify his lawyer at the same time as himself to give notice of an impending zoom date in the state of Minnesota?

 

[cocomod]

The vehicle was not registered to DW, it was still owned by the mother, IIRC. It was she who had an expired registration, not her son. So how would LE know that the driver had outstanding warrants until they checked his driver's license? If they had checked their computers it would have shown the mother was the one who hadn't updated the paperwork. It appears the 'pretext' rule was what triggered the stop, not the expired registration. Unless they thought a black kid driving a white woman's vehicle was suspicious.

They would not know it was a white woman that owned the car by the registration. It does not say "white woman" on their computer. Plus, the "temp" registration wasn't visible from the back, so they were likely running the plates from the previous owner.

 

[PrairieWind]

I don't think they would have had his warrant because the plates on the back were not his own. Also, his mom purchased the car for him, so it was likely registered in her name.


I have wondered about this case since we haven't seen the body cam from before the point of attempting to arrest. They said that the plates were expired, and some have yelled that they shouldn't have pulled him over for that alone because of the pandemic. However, we don't know how far past the registration was. His mom had just bought him the car, the plates on the car was from the previous owner. His "temp" plate was in the window, but not facing the back where the officer could see it. We don't know if this plate was 2 years or more expired. We don't have all of the information in my opinion to decide if the stop was "over the top".

I assume after they stopped him and went up and talked to him, they would have asked for his drivers license. When they ran the drivers license, the dispatch would have notified the officer that there was an outstanding warrant. The officer doing the traffic stop would then have called for assistance to make the arrest. One error I can see the arresting officer made is by trying to cuff him right there by the open door. Should have walked him away a bit first.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

@PrairieWind
My understanding of what his lawyer is saying is that he never saw the summons because he was not notified and only saw the warrant after the event.

I'm a bit confused because of this February 4th returned mail
https://www.scribd.com/document/502729363/Returned-Mail

The Return to Sender label: Does the court verify and document receipt of undeliverable mail?
Customer Returns - Label Services and Package Return Options | USPS