Hundreds follow Daunte Wright's family in a march through Brooklyn Center

Daunte Wright's family and friends led hundreds of protesters on a nearly 3-mile march Sunday, demanding police reform and more serious charges against the police officer who fatally shot him three weeks ago.

The group gathered in the neighborhood where former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter shot Wright, 20, during a traffic stop on April 11.

They then walked to the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where Katie Wright, Daunte Wright's mother, implored the crowd to keep saying her son's name.

"We're going to continue to be in these streets, on social media, at the police station. ... Like I've always said, it's never gonna be justice for us," she said. "But we want 100 percent accountability."

Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Wright's killing, which Katie Wright said was not enough.

Johnathon McClellan, president of the Minnesota Justice Coalition, told the protesters that his group is demanding that additional charges be brought against Potter. He also said the coalition plans to pressure elected officials to support police reform.

During the march, demonstrators chanted and shut down traffic at the busy intersection of Brooklyn Boulevard and 63rd Avenue and briefly stopped traffic again when marching on Humboldt Avenue N.

Around 4:30 p.m., the crowd arrived at the Police Department, which is still surrounded by fencing and concrete barriers.

On the fence, Daunte's name was spelled out in air fresheners. Wright's mother said he told her that he was pulled over for an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. Police said they pulled Wright over for expired registration, and then discovered that Wright had a warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge. Potter fatally shot Wright seconds after he pulled away from officers as they tried to arrest him.

Police said Potter unintentionally fired her handgun after mistaking it for her Taser.

Several groups and people who have advocated for police reform were at the march, including Courteney Ross, George Floyd's girlfriend, and Torisha Garraway, founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence.

Neil Murray, 83, who lives on 63rd Avenue, came out of his home when he heard the protesters pass by, many of them holding signs and Black Lives Matter flags.

He said seeing the demonstrators gave him hope for change.

"This is great," said Murray, who is Black and a former investigative reporter for KSTP-TV. "There's something called Minnesota nice. I'm seeing some of it finally."