Hundreds of people packed a Minneapolis church on Thursday to say goodbye to Daunte Wright, the young black man killed by a white officer in yet another high-profile police shooting.
In a ceremony at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries, attended by the family of George Floyd and others who have lost loved ones in police arrests, Wright, 20, was remembered as a “jokester".
He was shot and killed on April 11 by a white officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Centre, a Minneapolis suburb.
The shooting occurred 18 kilometres from where Floyd was asphyxiated by Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted of third-degree murder and other charges this week.
The case sparked global outrage and drew new attention to racial injustices that have plagued America for centuries.
“He had a smile that was worth a million dollars," said Wright's mother Katie, fighting through tears.
"When he walked into the room, he lit up the room.”
Famed civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, which centred on the theme of “No Justice, no peace.”
“We came from all over the country because you hurt one of our princes,” Mr Sharpton said.
Outside, private security guards carrying semi-automatic weapons were positioned around the building as onlookers gathered.
“I just wanted to show support for not just one individual but everyone,” said Tracey Lester, who went with three friends to the service.
Wright, who had been driving with his girlfriend to see his older brother, was pulled over for an expired registration on his licence plate.
When police ran his name through the system, an outstanding warrant for his arrest appeared.
In police body camera footage released shortly after Wright’s death, it appears he tried to get back into his car after police asked him to step out.
An officer, later identified as Kim Potter, can be heard yelling “Taser, Taser, Taser” before shooting him with her handgun.
Later she says, "I just shot him". Police claimed she meant to fire her Taser.
Ms Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Centre Police Department, immediately quit the force and has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Many in the Minneapolis area believe the charges are not enough.
"We definitely have Daunte Wright front and centre in our hearts," Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and prominent local activist, told The National.
"We are going to continue to demand murder charges and if and when we have to, we will return to the Washington County Attorney’s home in Stillwater.”
After Wright’s death, dozens of protesters gathered outside the home of Washington County Attorney Pete Orput, demanding murder charges against Ms Potter.
The shooting came during the Chauvin murder trial and for many, it was further proof that policing needs to change in a country where police kill about three civilians every day, with people of colour disproportionately among them.
“Can we just have a moment where you guys aren’t killing anyone?” Ms Levy Armstrong asked.
Chauvin's conviction came as a shock to many in the black community, which seldom sees officers held accountable for deadly shootings.
“People who didn’t believe that a conviction was possible now see that it is possible” Ms Levy Armstrong said.
On Thursday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called for two minutes of silence to honour Wright.
Join me in holding a two-minute moment of silence today at noon to honor Daunte Wright’s life.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 22, 2021
Nothing can bring Daunte back to his loved ones. But we will continue working to enact meaningful, lasting police accountability and reform.
Activists in the state said they would not rest until policing improved and Wright’s family received justice.
“We will pull up at the home of an elected official or law enforcement officials and disrupt their comfort,” Ms Levy Armstrong said.
"We’ll be peaceful but that’s going to be a disruption to them."
In his eulogy, Mr Sharpton urged politicians to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban some police techniques including the use of choke and carotid holds.
“We are fighting for a federal law, because if we have to keep fighting state by state we’ll never solve this,” he said.
