April 2021

Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center, MN officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021, while the Derek Chauvin trial was ongoing nearby. Potter, a 26-year veteran, said she confused her handgun with her Taser. Wright was shot once and died at the scene. Potter resigned and was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in December 2021, sentenced to two years — a sentence many advocates called inadequate. Brooklyn Center erupted in protests, with police responding with tear gas nightly.

Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl in foster care, was shot and killed by Columbus, OH officer Nicholas Reardon on April 20, 2021 — the same day as Derek Chauvin's murder conviction. Bryant had called 911 for help during an altercation. Body camera video showed Reardon shooting Bryant as she held a knife. Reardon was not charged. The case highlighted the intersection of child welfare, race, and policing: Bryant was in the foster care system, which disproportionately removes Black children, and had called police for help. Her death was announced during live TV coverage of the Chauvin verdict.

Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl in foster care, was shot and killed by Columbus officer Nicholas Reardon on April 20, 2021 — the same day as Derek Chauvin's murder conviction. Bryant had called 911 for help during an altercation. Body camera video showed Reardon shooting Bryant as she held a knife. Reardon was not charged.

Andrew Brown Jr., 42, was shot and killed by Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputies in Elizabeth City, NC, on April 21, 2021, while they were serving a drug-related arrest warrant. Deputies fired at his car as he drove away. A county judge initially blocked public release of body camera footage for 30 days. A partial release showed Brown was shot in the back of the head; the county called this a 'contact shot' not a shot in the back. A local prosecutor declined to charge any officer; the DOJ declined to pursue federal civil rights charges in 2022.

The officer who murdered George Floyd is convicted on all counts.