MINNEAPOLIS — A crowd erupted in cheers outside the Hennepin County Courthouse on Thursday as the two guilty verdicts were announced in former police officer Kimberly Potter's manslaughter trial for shooting Daunte Wright.
Wright's brother, Damik Bryant, threw his head back and yelled "yes!" when he heard the word "guilty" over a live-streamed video played on a phone held up to his ear. Family and community activists enveloped him in a hug, all surrounded by a crush of reporters and cameras. Almost immediately, the crowd began chanting the verdict, saying "guilty, guilty!" Many cried, hugged and laughed as the anxiety from the long wait for a verdict disappeared.
Marcia Howard, one of the main activists at George Floyd Square, collapsed to her knees when she heard the verdict.
"It's a relief for the mom and his family. The fact that this was more a referendum on the value of a young Black man's life, in comparison to a white woman's future, came down in favor of the value of a life snuffed out unfairly," she said. "As a Black woman, I have to routinely see the lives of my brothers and sisters and uncles and children being weighed and measured and found lacking, that they're not worth avenging. Today, Minneapolis shows the world that Black lives indeed matter."
Standing away from the crowd, 39-year-old Zoya Code wiped tears from her cheeks as she watched Wright's family celebrate. She'd been crying all day, she said, calling the wait for a verdict an "emotional rollercoaster."
"I hope this is the beginning of change," she said as she stood in the grass outside the courthouse. "I'm happy, but I also have higher standards. I dream of a world where (police killings) wouldn't keep happening."
George Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, said through tears that she was relieved: "It's accountability. Justice would be Daunte being with us this weekend for Christmas, but I'm so thrilled that our city, our state, they are setting a precedent for the future. So I truly think this, all this work is making a difference and we won't have to do this in the future one day."
The cheers of relief quickly turned into a celebration. A small brass band played "When the Saints Go Marching In" as some in the crowd danced.
"There's so much love out here," said Brooklynn Nelson, of Minneapolis, with her Doberman wearing a pink t-shirt that says "I bite killer kkkops."
Group members said they planned to march around downtown Minneapolis later in the afternoon.
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