STATEMENT FROM DR. JOCELYNNE RAINEY ON THE KILLING OF DAUNTE WRIGHT (APRIL 11, 2021)
As an organization working with young men of color who encounter the justice system, our hearts break for the family of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Like many of the young men we serve Daunte was a son and a father. The police chief claims the officer mistook her gun for a taser. Mistake or not this is another tragic result of the overpolicing of Black and brown people. Overpolicing has led to the untimely deaths of young people at the hands of the police officers that are supposed to be protecting our communities not killing our citizens. These men leave behind devastated families and often children who are now fatherless. We must ask, what type of recruitment, training, inclination, affiliation, indoctrination results in so many ‘mistakes?’ And how callous does an officer have to be to indulge in such reckless action when just a few miles away, the world is watching Derek Chauvin on trial for the murder of another Black man? These are the questions that drive us to continue to call for real change to the policing of communities of color and for a justice system that is truly just.”
