After taking a carbon-spewing private jet to Minneapolis, the climate-loving “Reverend” Al Sharpton waxed poetic at the funeral of Daunte Wright, a black man who was shot at the hands of a female police officer last week, calling him “the prince of Brooklyn Center.”
“I haven’t seen a funeral like this since Prince,” he continued, referencing the famous music artist who hailed from Minneapolis. “Well, we came to bury the prince of Brooklyn Center, because you hurt one of our princes.”
“You thought he was just some kid with an air freshener, he was a prince,” he continued. “Minneapolis is stopped today to honor the prince of Brooklyn Center.”
The congregation at a Minneapolis church clapped and shouted in enthusiasm after Reverend Al Sharpton delivered eulogy at the funeral of Daunte Wright, 20, killed by police during a routine traffic stop https://t.co/S0CT6CbC4l pic.twitter.com/AogPxzDLyM
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 23, 2021
Wright was shot and killed in what appears on its face to have been a fatal mistake by one of the police officers present at his initial traffic stop. According to police body cam footage from the scene, the female officer appears to have reached for her Taser to subdue Wright as he resisted police and got back into his car, instead grabbing her gun by mistake and shooting Wright as he sped off in the vehicle. Wright crashed several moments later and died from his injuries.
The officer, Kim Potter, has been charged with manslaughter.
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But separate from whether Wright died due to police negligence – which a court of law will determine – his criminal record proves he wasn’t quite the saintly martyr Sharpton and other activists have made him out to be far, and was from a “prince.” In March, Wright was charged with possession of a pistol without a permit and fleeing a police officer. In April, a warrant was issued for his arrest because he didn’t show up to his court hearing.
Following his remarks, Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar thanked Sharpton for his "beautiful eulogy," adding that "Most of us in this room, including myself, look at you as a guardian and are blessed to be in your presence."