Minnesota Shooting Victim’s ‘Outstanding Warrant’ Was For A Ticky-Tack Misdemeanor

Image: Facebook

The Sunday killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright had Minneapolis exploding in anger Sunday, and likely again on Monday night. The police officer who shot the 20-year-old Wright claims it was an “Oops, I thought it was my Taser” incident, and they say they pulled Wright over because of a traffic violation (an air freshener on his rear view mirror!) and an “outstanding arrest warrant.”

A few journalists have looked into what this “outstanding warrant” is for. The charge is so incredibly minor it will infuriate you that a young Black man died for this.

UPDATE: A third misdemeanor case — that did not come up under the original search of Daunte Wright’s name (left) — shows an additional warrant was issued on 4/2/2021 due to his failure to appear at a remote hearing (right) pic.twitter.com/dwfrQ8oY4F

— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) April 12, 2021

Wright was arrested on June 30 last year for carrying a pistol without a permit, and for fleeing an officer on foot. He was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, April 2, and the warrant for his arrest was issued because he didn’t show up (on Zoom) for that hearing. But Wright’s attorney says that neither he nor his client was even notified of that hearing.

“He obviously didn’t get it, and no one notified me,” Wright’s public defender Arthur Martinez told the Daily Beast. “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.”

Image: Minnesota District Court

Moreover, Wright’s charges came with a measly $500 cash bail charge, according to this supposedly “outstanding” warrant dated April 2, 2021.

“That’s how not serious this is: it’s a $500 bail. This wasn’t a $50,000 bail. This isn’t something where he allegedly did something violent to someone,” Martinez told the Daily Beast. “It’s not even a felony. It’s a gross misdemeanor. To tase or shoot somebody is insane.”

This is America, so a young Black man who is not even 21 can be killed because of a $500 court charge that is not even two weeks old.