The father of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by a Minnesota police officer in April after she shouted “Tase him,” choked up on the witness stand as he spoke about his son.
“We had a close relationship. He was me and my wife’s first child,” Arbuey Wright said during emotional testimony on Wednesday, USA Today reported.
“I miss him a lot. Every day,” Wright added.
Taking the witness stand, Daunte Wright’s father shared stories of working with his son, whom he managed while they worked together at a shoe store, according to the newspaper.
Arbuey Wright also spoke about how much Daunte loved his baby son, Daunte Jr., and how “this was my chance to be a grandfather.”
Daunte’s father also shared memories of his son looking out for his sisters Diamond and Destinee, playing basketball and having chicken at cookouts with the family, USA Today reported.
The emotional testimony came during the second week of the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot Daunte Wright in April as officers attempted to take the 20-year-old out of his car.
Daunte Wright, who was found driving with expired tags and an air freshener illegally hanging in his rearview mirror, was pulled over by officers. Police tried to arrest him upon learning that he had a warrant out for his arrest due to a misdemeanor weapons violation.
However, as officers tried to get Daunte Wright out of the car, the 20-year-old was fatally shot. Potter said in audio picked up from a body camera during the incident “Tase him!” She later announced, “I just shot him” as Wright drove away.
Potter faces first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges.
University of South Carolina School of Law professor Seth Stoughton, who is an expert in police use of force, said on Wednesday during the Potter trial that the former officer’s “use of deadly force was not appropriate.”