Politics
George Floyd’s girlfriend Courteney Ross was Daunte Wright’s TEACHER, family says as both killed by cops within 10 miles
GEORGE Floyd’s girlfriend was once Daunte Wright’s teacher, the tragic 20-year-old’s family have revealed.
The two men were both killed at the hands of cops just 10 miles apart, and Wright’s aunt has now told of the more personal link between the pair.
- Read our Daunte Wright live blog for the latest updates…
Daunte Wright was shot and killed when a 25-year police veteran mistook her gun for a taser[/caption]
George Floyd’s girlfriend taught Wright at high school[/caption]
Daunte’s aunt, Naisha Wright, said her nephew was taught by George Floyd’s girlfriend[/caption]
Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a Brooklyn Center police officer in Minnesota shortly before 2pm on Sunday during a routine traffic stop.
The young black man was shot just ten miles from where George Floyd was killed last summer, leading to an outpouring of anger from the community.
Wright’s death came amid the trial Derek Chauvin, the 45-year-old charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
The grief-stricken families of the two men – who have drawn parallels between their losses – are now both being represented by the same attorney, Benjamin Crump, and met for the first time on Tuesday.
Now, Daunte Wright’s aunt Naisha Wright has revealed a further tragic link between the two cases – that Floyd’s girlfriend Courteney Ross taught her nephew in high school.
An emotional press briefing with the families of Wright and Floyd and attorneys Ben Crump and Jeff Storms took place in Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon.
George Floyd’s former girlfriend Courteney Ross taught Daunte Wright in high school[/caption]
Naisha wore a top with George Floyd’s picture on as she addressed crowds in Minneapolis[/caption]
Wearing a T-shirt with Floyd’s picture printed on it alongside the word “justice”, Naisha Wright told reporters: “I wear this shirt and the craziest thing is to find out today that my family has connections to this man, to this family.
“His girlfriend was the teacher for my nephew.
“My nephew was a lovable young man.”
Courteney Ross – who was with Floyd for three years before he died – confirmed to the Washington Post that Wright attended Edison High School in Minneapolis when she was employed as a dean there.
She described him as a “silly boy, as goofy as can be”, who “needed a lot of love”.
“Students like Daunte needed more resources but they never got more resources,” Ross told to the Post.
“Our system doesn’t serve kids like Daunte. And now I’m seeing, more than ever, this system I once believed in, we’re done doing what we need to be doing to protect Black life.”
Wright was killed when 25-year veteran officer Kim Potter thought she had grabbed her taser to stop Wright from fleeing a traffic stop, after she and her colleagues tried to take him into custody.
Kim Potter has resigned after the fatal shooting of Wright[/caption]
Daunte Wright and George Floyd’s families met for the first time on Tuesday[/caption]
Bodycam footage from the fatal shooting reveals the moment cop Potter accidentally shot him while trying to use a Taser.
Speaking on Monday, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said she had intended to use a Taser – not a handgun – and described the shooting as an “accidental discharge.”
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said the resignation of both Potter and Gannon came after the city council passed a resolution to dismiss the cops.
In a statement on Tuesday, Potter said: “I am tendering my resignation from the Brooklyn Center Police Department effective immediately.
“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.”
Prosecutors are expected to decide today whether to charge Potter.
His death has seen protests break out in Minneapolis and across the US for three consecutive nights in the wake of the shooting.
Wright was killed less than a year after Floyd, who died May following an arrest during which Chauvin placed a knee on his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”
Wright’s distraught mom described the day of her son’s death “as the worst day of my life”.
Attorney Crump said “nobody in America should be killed by police” but particularly during the “pinnacle” trial of Chauvin.
Wright’s mom, Katie, said Sunday was ‘the worst day of my life’[/caption]
“This is a bittersweet moment,” he said. “It is somewhat gratifying that we have George Floyd’s family here, who left the courthouse where the trial of Derek Chauvin is underway because they thought it was important to comfort Daunte Wright’s family.
“Because this time last year, almost a year ago, they were facing the unimaginable, they were facing the unbelievable, they were facing the agony of losing a family member to police excessive force.
“And it is unbelievable, it is just something I cannot fathom that in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a suburb 10 miles from where the Chauvin trial regarding George Floyd was taking place, that a police officer would shoot and kill another unarmed black man… I wouldn’t believe it.”
Philonise Floyd, George’s brother, said he didn’t “want to see another victim”.
He told the crowd: “Another African American man being slayed, I never thought that this world could be in so much disorder.
Most read in News
“Police officers are killing us and we are being killed at a rate I never thought we could imagine.
“Minneapolis, you can’t sweep this under the rug anymore. To the protesters all around this nation, stand up. We need you all to come out.
“This is a family that needs us to stand in solidarity with them. Please pray for this family. I don’t want to see another victim.”
