# Daunte Wright charging decision The **Daunte Wright charging decision** was the decision whether to bring criminal charges against the police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright. Hennepin County referred the decision to the [[Washington County Attorney's Office]] one day after the shooting.[^1][^2] The referral was made under a protocol that five metro [[county attorney]]s had signed "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest."[^2] CBS Minnesota reported the referral on April 12, 2021.[^2] The protocol's stated purpose was to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The record shows what followed. The decision was made outside the county that referred it. By April 24, 2021, a charge had been filed against the officer and was being publicly defended by the prosecutor.[^3] The matter then left Washington County for the Minnesota Attorney General.[^1][^4] The project's at-issue record observes that the charging decision was made by a prosecutor whom no affected voter had elected.[^1] ## Who - The CBS Minnesota report of April 12, 2021 attributes the referral to Freeman, acting for Hennepin County.[^2] - The Washington County Attorney's Office received the referral and made the charging decision.[^2] - The prosecutor defended the charge in an interview with the [[Star Tribune]]. The prosecutor said, "I'm not going to succumb to pressure like that," and "Facts matter."[^3] - The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General described the five-county protocol as established. The office later had a role in the matter.[^1][^4] ## What - The decision concerned whether to charge the officer who shot Daunte Wright. A charge was brought.[^3] ## When - The referral from Hennepin County to Washington County came one day after the shooting.[^1][^2] - April 12, 2021: CBS Minnesota reported that the Washington County Attorney's Office would make the charging decision.[^2] - April 24, 2021: the *Star Tribune* reported that the prosecutor was defending the charge against the officer.[^3] - May 2021: the Attorney General's office issued a release concerning the matter.[^1] ## Where - The decision was referred from Hennepin County to Washington County. It was later moved to the Attorney General, a statewide office in [[Minnesota]].[^1][^2][^4] ## Why - The stated reason for the referral was the five-county practice "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest."[^2] The record shows that stated reason. It does not establish any further motive on the part of any official.[^1] ## How - Five metro county attorneys had signed a protocol under which a charging decision of this kind is referred to another county's office.[^1][^2] - The at-issue record identifies Minn. Stat. § 8.01 as the codified permission for relocating a decision out of its own jurisdiction.[^4] The pack does not carry the statute's text. The record shows the citation, not the operative language.[^4] ## In the at-issue record - **Referral within one day.** One entry records the following:[^1][^2] - Hennepin County referred the decision to Washington County one day after the shooting, under the five-county protocol. - The decision was therefore made by a prosecutor with no electoral relationship to the affected voters. - The entry's primary anchor is the Attorney General's release describing the protocol as established. - **Venue as remedy.** A second entry records the following:[^4][^1] - The Wright matter is listed among several cases referred into or out of Washington County. - The entry notes that the Wright matter came in from Hennepin County and left again for the Attorney General. - The entry anchors this pattern to Minn. Stat. § 8.01. - The record shows the referrals and the statute citation. It does not establish, from this matter alone, how often the protocol has been applied. ## Notes [^1]: Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, *News release* (May 2021) — describes the five-county referral protocol as established; concerns the Attorney General's role in the matter. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2021/05/21_Potter.asp [^2]: CBS Minnesota, *Washington County Attorney's Office Will Make Charging Decision In Fatal Police Shooting Of Daunte Wright* (Apr. 12, 2021) — Freeman refers the decision to Washington County; five-county practice "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest." https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/washington-county-attorneys-office-will-make-charging-decision-in-fatal-police-shooting-of-daunte-wright/ [^3]: *Star Tribune*, *Prosecutor defends charge against the officer who killed Daunte Wright* (Apr. 24, 2021) — a charge was brought; the prosecutor's quoted defense of it. https://www.startribune.com/prosecutor-defends-charge-against-the-officer-who-killed-daunte-wright/600049641 [^4]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 8.01* — the statute the at-issue record identifies as codified permission for relocating a decision out of its own jurisdiction. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/8.01