Daunte Wright funeral: Sharpton pledges policing reform

April 22 (UPI) -- Hundreds of mourners gathered Thursday for the funeral of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was shot dead by police earlier this month in a Minneapolis suburb.

The funeral took place at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Brooklyn Center, Minn. There was a public viewing on Wednesday night, with Wright lying in a white open casket covered in red roses.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy for Wright, pledged to work with national civil rights leaders to seek justice for his family.

"We're going to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as federal law," Sharpton said. "We are going to make it against the law all over the country to stop bringing us to funerals for our young kings."

Wright was shot dead during a traffic stop near Brooklyn Center on April 11 by police officer Kim Potter. Authorities said it's likely Potter intended to use her stun gun, but mistakenly reached for her firearm and shot Wright.

Potter was arrested on a charge of second-degree manslaughter last week.

Wright's killing ignited multiple days of protests in the city still reeling from the police killing of George Floyd last summer.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty this week on counts of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.

Also in attendance at Wright's funeral were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.