Chair Carter statement regarding killing of Daunte Wright
Ramsey County Board of Commissioners Chair Toni Carter opened the April 13 board meeting with a statement regarding the recent killing of Daunte Wright. Below is an excerpt. You can also watch a video of the remarks.
I’d like to start out this morning by expressing sympathies on behalf of the county board to the family of Daunte Wright, shot and killed at the hands of a police officer in Brooklyn Center this past Sunday afternoon. We pause in this moment to acknowledge the tremendous trauma and grief - that of Mr. Wright’s family - and also that engulfs us all here in this Twin Cities area, endured here for far too long.
We are also mindful of the compounding impact of the painful legacies of racism and discrimination with which we have not yet fully reckoned. Continuing to witness up close in our communities the terrible capacity of this legacy to continue its impact in this generation we are ever mindful of our duty as Ramsey County policymakers and public servants, together with our community, to untangle the systems that serve our communities from their historic complicity in these impacts — not simply in law enforcement, but in the administration of public safety and justice overall, as well as in our efforts for health and wellness and economic inclusiveness – so that that all our work protects and serves first and foremost the sanctity of life in all its aspects.
We thank staff and community for the healing circles in place to provide support during this retraumatizing period where the trials in Minneapolis vividly replay and cause us to revisit the killing of George Floyd. In the session last night, the pain was palpable, with participants using words like "hurt," "disappointed," "traumatized," "fed up," "heartbroken"...so too was the resolve acknowledging this moment as the time for achieving the changes we need.
At the conclusion of the remarks, Chair Carter asked for the observation of a moment of silence.
View video of Chair Carter's statement