Minnesota Gov. Walz signs law for emergency funding to cover Wright demonstrations

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WKBT) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law Tuesday that will provide emergency funding to two state agencies, Ohio and Nebraska to cover costs associated with protests in Brooklyn Center after a police officer shot Daunte Wright to death on April 11.
The law is to provide deficiency funding to the state Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Public Safety to cover unanticipated expenses in response to protests and public safety concerns in Brooklyn Center and surrounding communities after former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter shot the 20-year-old Wright.
The measure also provides funding for the state’s obligation to the states of Ohio and Nebraska under the federal Emergency Management Assistance Compact. The EMAC support was part of the state’s response to requests for public safety assistance from local governments.
Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center force who was training a rookie on the day of the incident, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. She contends she mistook her service revolver for a Taser.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension examined Potter’s duty belt and found that her handgun was holstered on the right side of her belt, while the Taser was on the left side, according to a news release from Washington County Attorney Pete Orput’s office.
Brooklyn Center is in Hennepin County, but Orput’s office investigated and charged as an independent agency.

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