Daunte Wright’s funeral and the latest on the push for police reform

Bipartisan bicameral talks continue as a core group of lawmakers tries to strike a deal on overhauling policing. While those talks have intensified over the last few days, we do not anticipate a bill being filed or a deal being struck in the immediate future.

According to Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, the next step will be formal negotiations. Up until now, Bass, GOP Sen. Tim Scott and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker have been engaged in what they’ve described as informal discussions. Bass said she hopes formal negotiations will begin in a matter of days.

Bass said she planned to speak with Scott and Booker today but did not say if she is meeting with them separately or together. 

Key sticking points include:

On qualified immunity, one of the biggest sticking points, Scott backs an idea that would allow civil litigation against police departments, rather than individual officers.

Currently individual officers are protected against lawsuits, even if it is later determined that the officer violated the Constitution, unless it can be clearly established in prior cases that the conduct is recurring and unconstitutional. 

Bass told CNN on Wednesday she believes officers and departments need to be held accountable.

Still Scott maintains they’re not that far apart on the issue, telling CNN today, “I think there are a number of Democrats that have proposals that actually put the burden on the employer, not the employee…I’ve spoken to many senators, who, on the left, who are very amenable and to that. I think we’ll bridge that gap.”

On the issue of Section 242, Scott has said it’s “off the table” while Bass maintains it must be addressed. Justice Department policy maintains that under Section 242 of the federal criminal code, in order to prosecute a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity, “prosecutors must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that a law enforcement officer acted willfully to deprive an individual of a federally protected right. “

Civil rights groups maintain that Section 242 makes meeting the burden of proof almost impossible. 

At this point these talks are pretty much exclusively happening on the Hill. Bass said the White House is being kept informed as things move forward. White House officials from the Office of Legislative Affairs, Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice and Office of Public Engagement director Cedric Richmond are keeping track of developments.

The Biden administration has expressed its support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act which passed the House in March with no Republican support. White House press secretary Jen Psaki has acknowledged there will likely need to be changes made to that bill in order to pass the Senate.

Bottom line: There is real movement on the issue of police reform, but it’s going to take some time. Still, all parties agree this time feels different than last summer when these efforts failed.

Daunte Wright’s parents were presented with a flag and a proclamation during their son’s funeral service Thursday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz read a proclamation announcing a moment of silence for 12 p.m. local on Thursday and handed it to the family.

US Rep. Ilhan Omar also presented Daunte Wright’s parents with a flag that was flown for him over the US Capitol.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke during the service about the need to pass the George Floyd Policing Act in light of the death of Wright at the hands of police. 

“We can do more, we must do more, because for too long changes come, inch by inch, when we should be miles ahead,” she said. “It is time for Washington DC to move forward on police reform and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We must make policing more accountable. We have to change police training and standards, including banning chokehold.” 

Klobuchar added: “We won’t rest until justice – true justice – is done.”

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar addressed the historic nature of Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict, but noted that it should not be confused for justice during a memorial service for Daunte Wright.

Klobuchar called for immediate police reform and said that the burden of change shouldn’t just fall on the shoulders of bystanders like Darnella Frazier, the teen who filmed George Floyd’s final moments, or those who witnessed the shooting of Wright.

“It is on us as leaders in our communities, in our neighborhoods, as lawmakers. We can do more. We must do more. Because for too long change has come inch by inch when we should be miles ahead. It is time for Washington, DC, to move forward on police reform and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We must make policing more accountable,” she said.

Klobuchar continued, “As we remember Daunte’s life and grieve his death, we must repair what is broken in this country and make sure class clowns and basketball fans, doting fathers and caring sons remain with us in body, as Daunte now does in spirit, Mrs. Wright. We won’t rest until justice, true justice, is done. That’s my proclamation to you.”

Rev. Al Sharpton today delivered a powerful eulogy for Daunte Wright in Minneapolis, Minnesota, drawing a direct line between the killing of the young man and the verdict in Derek Chauvin trial.

“He was a prince,” said Sharpton of Wright, who was shot to death by police about ten miles away from where the Chauvin trial was taking place. “All of Minneapolis has stopped today to honor the prince of Brooklyn Center.”

Sharpton went on say protests must and would continue until justice is achieved.

“The absence of justice is the absence of peace,” he said. “There is a confusion in this country between peace and quiet. Some of us are told to ‘shut up and just be quiet’… but peace is the presence of justice.”

Sharpton also drew a direct line from the killing of Wright and George Floyd, saying their legacies would bring about national change. 

“In the name of Daunte, we are going to pass the “George Floyd Policing Act” as federal law,” he said. “We are going to make it against he law across this country to keep having funerals for our young princes…God has turned the page in the state of Minnesota and we’re never going back no more.” 

Sharpton said change had already begun, noting that a number of police had testified against their former colleague, Chauvin. 

“That’s why we know change is here,” he said. “When you see the blue wall of silence tumble in a courtroom in Minneapolis, when policemen understand they are committed to the oath rather than to their colleague, that’s when we know a breakthrough is coming.”

Ben Crump, an attorney for Daunte Wright’s family, said they deserve justice for the loss of their loved one.

Crump, who spoke at Wright’s funeral today, also called for justice for Wright’s son Daunte Jr.

Crump said Wright’s funeral service was to “celebrate his life and define his legacy.”

He also acknowledged several families of other victims of police violence who attended Wright’s funeral today.

Wright was shot and killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11.

Crump acknowledged the families of George Floyd and Philando Castile, having them stand up during the service. He also acknowledged Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police during a no-knock warrant.

The family of Jamar Clark, who was killed by two Minneapolis police officers in 2015, was also in attendance.

During the service, trumpeter Keyon Harrold played a song. Harrold’s son was accused by a woman of stealing her phone in a New York hotel last December.

Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said her late son “had a smile that was worth a million dollars” during his funeral today in Minneapolis.

Wright was only 20 when he was shot and killed by a White Minnesota police officer.

Watch:

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Members of George Floyd’s family are at today’s funeral for Daunte Wright.

Attorney Ben Crump — who represents both families — acknowledged the Floyd family while speaking at the funeral.

Wright’s death on April 11 in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center happened about 10 miles from where the trial in Floyd’s death was held this month.

The funeral for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed by a white Minnesota police officer, is underway.

The Rev. Al Sharpton — who eulogized George Floyd last year — is expected to speak in today’s service at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis.

Relatives of Floyd and Oscar Grant, Black men also killed in police encounters, are expected to attend the funeral, a family attorney and Wright’s aunt said hours before the service.

Wright’s death on April 11 in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center happened about 10 miles from where the trial in Floyd’s death was held this month. Wright’s killing sparked nights of protests in Brooklyn Center and reignited national conversations about policing and the use of force.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference on April 20.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN this morning that he’s hopeful a deal can be reached on policing reform in the next several weeks, and he’s instructed Democratic Sen. Cory Booker to “see what he can get done.” 

Asked if qualified immunity was the last major sticking point, he said to ask Sen. Booker about the details. 

Booker has been working on a compromise deal with GOP Sen. Rick Scott that may allow for police departments to be sued in civil trials for excessive use of force, while still protecting individual officers. 

Columbus City Schools say they are mourning the teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer on Tuesday, its superintendent said in a statement Wednesday.

Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, had been “newly enrolled” at Independence High School as of February, according to spokesperson Jacqueline Bryant, no relation.

The Columbus Board of Education also issued a statement. 

Ma’Khia Bryant’s death occurred just minutes before the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin trial, which the school board said “certainly does not demonstrate that the system has been corrected or that there is true justice, as evidenced by the events that unfolded in our city that same day.”

They say while they are committed to ending racism in their school districts, “to really understand and begin to address the historic nature of systemic racism and bias in Columbus, we must come together, call it out, and create a holistic plan of action as a city.”

Spokesperson Bryant said that the district would have a dedicated team at the girl’s school this week and next, “to support students and staff who are experiencing sadness or anxiety at this tragic news and helping them understand their emotions better throughout the days ahead.”

For three decades, Tracy Wesley has met people on life’s most difficult days.

He runs Estes Funeral Chapel in Minneapolis — one of only two Black-owned funeral homes in Minnesota. And he’s handled some of the Twin Cities’ most high-profile deaths: George Floyd, Jamar Clark and now Daunte Wright.

In his line of work, Wesley says he is not bothered by people who naturally pass or transition but is troubled by police killings. 

Days before George Floyd’s family celebrated a guilty verdict on all three charges for the murder of their loved one, Wesley helped Daunte Wright’s family arrange their son’s funeral. 

Wesley said the Wright family selected a red urn to store Daunte Wright’s ashes. During the process, Wesley learned red was one of Daunte Wright’s favorite colors.

Wright will be cremated following his funeral, Wesley said. For the Thursday funeral service, the family is renting a white casket to hold the body of the 20-year-old.

“White always means angelic,” Wesley said, noting red and white roses will drape the casket. “The red and white roses, they just kind of like that.”

Wright was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop about 15 miles from the Cup Foods where George Floyd was killed. The two men, killed in police custody nearly a year apart, became focal points for the national conversation around police accountability and racial bias in the US.

The manner in which each was killed differed. An officer knelt on a handcuffed Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes after Floyd exited his vehicle. Wright was stopped for an expired tag, though authorities later learned he had an outstanding gross misdemeanor warrant, and was fatally shot in his vehicle as an officer yelled out “Taser!”

But their similarities drew particular heartbreak from protesters calling for justice: Floyd called out for his mother in his last moments and Wright called his mother as he was pulled over. They both were fathers to young children and both of their deaths were captured on video.

“It’s a little bit of a different state of mind that you have to be in to help. On one hand, you’re upset being African American in this country,” Wesley said. “And on the other hand, being a professional, you have to do all that you can and focus to help our families.”

Wesley has handled killings that people outside the state of Minnesota know little about. They are among the names at a symbolic cemetery called “Say Their Names,” blocks from the site where Floyd died.

See Wesley’s story:

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Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the murder of George Floyd, but now there’s a new call for action: Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Authored by Rep. Karen Bass of California, the act has already passed the US House of Representatives. It now needs a debate and a vote in the US Senate.

According to the legislation’s fact sheet, the bill would “save lives by banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants” and would mandate “deadly force be used only as a last resort.”

In the wake of the verdict, many of Floyd’s family members, leaders and activists and President Biden say that now is the time to continue to push that legislation forward. Supporters of the bill say it would improve law enforcement accountability and work to root out racial bias in policing.

“We can’t stop here,” President Biden said on Tuesday, noting that “in order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen or occur again.”

Here’s what the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would do:

Democrats now control the Senate, which has a 50-50 partisan split with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie breaker. But most legislation in that chamber still requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and it’s not clear there would be enough Republican support to get the legislation across the finish line in the Senate.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation calling for a two-minute silence to honor Daunte Wright at 1 p.m. ET.  

The silence will mark the start Wright’s funeral. Wright was shot and killed by a police officer on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. 

“We must be steadfast in our accountability to change from the top to the bottom, and not rest until we create a different future for Daunte Wright’s son, and every other child like him,” it added. 

“Daunte Wright was beloved by his family, neighbors, and community, and had his entire young life ahead of him. We mourn the loss of Daunte Wright, and as a state we offer our deepest condolences to the Wright family.”  

There will be a funeral for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed by a white Minnesota police officer, this afternoon in Minneapolis.

The Rev. Al Sharpton — who eulogized George Floyd last year — is expected to give the eulogy.

Wright’s funeral is scheduled to start noon local (1 p.m. ET) at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis.

Former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter, was arrested and charged last week with second-degree manslaughter in Wright’s death.