(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Officer who shot Daunte Wright mistook handgun for Taser, says police chief
The police chief of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota said the Sunday police shooting of 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright was “an accidental discharge,” and that bodycam video indicates the officer “drew their handgun instead of their Taser.” The officer – identified by officials as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department – can be heard yelling, “Holy s***, I just shot him” in the body cam footage. Officials say she’s been placed on administrative leave. A source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News that Potter was field training another officer at the time of the shooting.
Wright was driving in Brooklyn Center, about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis, when he was stopped by police Sunday afternoon for an expired registration tag on his car but determined during the traffic stop that he had an outstanding gross misdemeanor warrant, according to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon. As police attempted to take him into custody, Wright reentered the vehicle and Officer Potter shot him.
Protesters were out in force after dark in Brooklyn Center Monday night. Governor Tim Walz had imposed a curfew on Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas until 7:00 a.m. ET Tuesday. The Minnesota Twins also postponed their scheduled Monday game against the Boston Red Sox “out of respect for the tragic events that occurred.” In a statement to ABC News, Wright’s family described Daunte as a young father who “had a whole life ahead of him.”
Prosecution testimony in Derek Chauvin trial nears end; defense testimony may begin today
After more than two weeks, testimony by witnesses for the prosecution is nearing an end in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Court ended Monday with testimony from a use-of-force expert who said it wasn’t reasonable for the officers to put George Floyd in the prone position, meaning on the ground and on his stomach, during his May 25, 2020 arrest, during which he died. The expert also testified that Floyd being handcuffed, as well as his actions in the video, indicated that he was not a threat to officers or the public at that time.
The prosecution may rest its case today, after which the defense can begin calling its witnesses. Before adjourning for the day Monday, Judge Peter Cahill told the jury he expects the defense will possibly finish presenting their evidence before Friday. If that happens, there may be no court on Friday and closing arguments would begin next Monday, at which point the jury will be sequestered.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 136,746,261
Global deaths: 2,948,328. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 562,608.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 77,894,431
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 31,268,952 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 562,608. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 60,495.
U.S. total people tested: 408,992,581
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,704,070 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,822,371 cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,832,074 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 237,796,305 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 189,692,045 doses have been administered, with 120,848,490 people receiving at least one dose and 74,066,085 people fully vaccinated, representing 36.4% and 22.3% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
FDA and CDC call for temporary Johnson & Johnson vaccine halt over blood clot fears
Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called for an immediate, temporary halt on use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six cases of a rare type of blood clot were reported in female recipients between six and 13 days after the vaccines were administered. The FDA and CDC said that these cases are extremely rare but they were acting out of an abundance of caution. The type of blood clot is known as a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which can potentially cause a stroke.
More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have already been administered in the U.S. In a joint statement issued Tuesday morning, the CDC and FDA said experts would meet Wednesday morning “to further review these cases and assess their potential significance.” The FDA is scheduled to hold a media briefing Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET to address the news.
Shortly after the announcement, the national drug store chains Walgreens and CVS announced they were halting administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. New York state’s health commissioner announced they are halting use of the vaccine at all mass vaccination sites and would administer the Pfizer vaccine in its place. The Georgia Department of Public Health also announced it is “pausing“ Johnson & Johnson vaccinations in that state “until further notice.”
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