In response to the tragic incident involving the senseless shooting of 20 year old Daunte Wright, on Sunday April 11, 2021, while detained by Brooklyn Center police officers, Our Turn members released the following statement:
“We condemn the act of Kim Potter, a 26 year law enforcement veteran, who discharged her weapon, killing unarmed, Daunte Wright on sight. Officer Potter robbed Daunte, his son, the Wright family and community of his future. We don't accept that an officer of such long tenure, responsible for training other officers, "accidentally" mistook her firearm to be a taser. We don't accept a system that allows law enforcement to operate with impunity. We respect the need for due process including a full investigation; however, we believe that the current facts surrounding the incident warrant swift action and demand that she be held accountable under the full extent of the law.
As youth activists, we recognize our role in dismantling systemic racism across the United States. We will continue to use our voices to fight against police brutality and anti-blackness. From a young age we are taught that the men in blue are our friends and that they are there to protect us. We put our faith and trust into those familiar black and blue-uniformed officers who are responsible for our individual safety and find solace in knowing that they will be there when we need them. However, for many of us, the social contract has now been broken. Police departments throughout America are subject to public scrutiny as countless acts of racial inequality and prejudiced brutality are constantly broadcast across our screens. As America grapples with the pandemic, people are also struggling to disentangle themselves from the long-existing endemic of police violence against Black and Brown people.
Recently with the inexcusable killing of Daunte Wright we once again see the ability for police to hide behind their “blue code” and white privilege, but we say “no more!”
In our fight for social justice, we will leverage the Student Agenda for Equity to advocate the dismantling of institutions that systemically infringe our civil rights. We will work with Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other marginalized groups to ensure that we address the historical trauma inflected in our communities as a result of the broken social contract between law enforcement and communities. As we charge forward in our plight for change, we will continue to assess the ways this trauma is further perpetuated in our education system through the school to prison pipeline and use of police enforcement on campuses across the country. We will continue to fight for a seat at the table, demanding the authentic engagement of youth voices as communities reimagine a more equitable and just public safety system.”
