tonight on a special edition of "turning point," descending into chaos. >> oh my god! >> a city demanding justice. police fatally shooting an unarmed black man. [ bleep ]. >> the latest deadly encounter with law enforcement. reopening old wounds in minneapolis. the epicenter of a courtroom showdown. george floyd's brother offering a tearful testimony. >> he was a big mama's boy. he loved her so dearly. >> where the case now stands. plus, held at gunpoint. >> i am a lieutenant. >> lieutenant, get out of the car! >> a soldier pepper strayed and pushed to the ground. >> why. i being treated like this? >> the routine traffic stop gone

wrong, with race and policing gone wrong. "turning point: reckoning of force" will be right back. the spray breaks down dirt and the pad absorbs it deep inside. buh bye. try wetjet with a money-back guarantee. [sfx: thunder rumbles] [sfx: rainstorm] ♪ comfort in the extreme. ♪ the lincoln family of luxury suvs.

good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm janai norman. tonight clashes between police and protesters near minneapolis reaching a boiling point after officers fatally shoot an unarmed black man.

this new case inflaming already heightened tensions in the community still grappling with the death of george floyd. painfully familiar sights and sounds in america. protesters squaring off with police amid cries for justice after the shooting death of an unarmed black man at the hands of police. >> we gather on this ground from which daunte's blood cries out, and we gather to say enough. >> 20-year-old daunte wright killed sunday afternoon in brooklyn center, minnesota, just outside minneapolis. what was meant to be a traffic stop suddenly turning into traditioncally. police officers say an officer accidentally discharged her weapon while attempting to arrest him. >> he was a son. he was a brother. he was an uncle. he was a father. he was a grandson. he was so much more, and he did not deserve this at all.

my heart is literally broken into a thousand pieces. i don't know what to do or what to say. and i just need everyone to know that he was my life. he was my son, and i can never get that back. because of a mistake? because of an accident? >> as the trial for the murder of george floyd is under way, wright's death sparking massive demonstrations sunday night. protesters clashing with police, who in turn fired rubber bullets and tear gas on the crowd. >> daunte wright! daunte wright! >> looters ransacked dozens of stores with reports of several businesses in the area being, quote, completely destroyed.yed. officials deploying more than 500 members of the national guard in response. >> people protesting, expressing yourself, we fully support that. but the ravaging our businesses,

the looting of our stores, the destruction to our pharmacies, we cannot tolerate that. >> to date, police releasing this disturbing body cam individual yes of the incident. they say daunte wright was initially pulled over just before 2:00 p.m. sunday for expired registration on his vehicle. officers discovering he had a warrant out for his arrest. court records showed that warrant was issued after right failed to appear in court earlier this month following charges for carrying a firearm without a permit and running away from law enforcement. police attempt to take wright into custody. a struggle ensues as the 20-year-old tries to get back into his car. >> taser, taser, taser! >> but instead of grabbing her taser, the officer instead grabs her gun and fires. >> i just shot him.

>> the car, traveling for several blocks before crashing into another vehicle. police say paramedics attempted life-saving measures, but wright was pronounced dead at the scene. >> this appears to me from what i view and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of mr. wright. >> i was able to watch the video with mr. wright, and whenever you watch a video like that with a parent, almost everything else leaves your mind because you can just sort of absorb that pain. it's just a pain that's so unbearable that no one should ever have to experience. >> officers are to be trained consistently on de-escalation tactics. because if the young man would have gotten away you knew who he was. you knew what type of car it was. you had the license plate.

>> the officer, kim potter, a 26-year veteran of the brooklyn center police department. she has been placed on administrative leave. the mayor of brooklyn center saying he supports that decision. >> our hearts are aching right now. we are in pain right now. and we recognize that this couldn't have happened at a worse time. >> it would be in the best interests of the police department and the chief if this young lady was relieved of her duty. >> we have to start to hold our officers accountable for these types of situations. >> there needs to be a complete top to bottom audit of policing in the state of minnesota. and we need to make sure we're doing, you know, a good enough job as a state in terms of licensing officers and making sure we have officers on the streets who understand yeah, they're there to enforce the law, but they're also there to serve the community. >> a traffic stop, especially

for a minor violation should not result in the death of an individual. >> president biden today calling for a full investigation. >> we do know that the anger, pain, and trauma that exists in the black community and that environment is real.pit's serio consequential. but it will not justify violence and/or looting. >> tonight three counties in the minneapolis area under curfew, but crowds still gathering. the governor issuing a state of emergency. >> our time to get one shot at fixing it was there. and in the midst of this trial that's the world's watching, the situation repeated itself yesterday. >> daunte's death happening just 15 miles from outside that cup foods where 46-year-old george floyd died on memorial day last year, also during a police encounter. the trial for the former minneapolis police officer charged in floyd's death now entering its third week.

>> do you swear or affirm -- >> today philonise floyd giving so called spark of life testimony, meant to give the jury a sense of who his big brother was, remembering how he made the best banana mayonnaise sandwiches, loved basketball, and the mother he cried out for a he was dying. >> he was a big mama's boy. he loved his mom. it was so unique how they were with each other. he would just lay up on to her in the fetus position like he was still in the womb. >> not only was he impactful, but i think as important if not more important, he didn't venture off into testimony that would have opened up the door to the defense being able the say oh, you think he is a peaceful person? that would have been aable to allow the defense to bring in potentially prior bad acts of george floyd. so i think this witness did a great job of walking that tightrope. >> in the past few days, the prosecution has presented medical testimony about floyd's

condition in the time leading up to and after his death. today cardiologist dr. jonathan rich testified floyd would be alive today had he not been restrained in the way he was. the defense making the point that floyd could have followed police commands to avoid that restraint. >> so in other words, if he had gotten in the squad car, he'd be alive. >> i think my answer remains the same. anything other than that scenario he was subjected to, i have no reason to think from a medical perspective that he would not have survived that day, correct. >> dr. rich also testifying he did not believe floyd died from a heart attack or due to drug use. >> i can state with a high degree of medical certainty that george floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event, and he did not die from a drug overdose. >> the truth and nothing but the truth? >> on friday, a forensic pathologist testified similarly. >> what was the cause, the

manner of death for mr. george floyd? >> the cause of death was the law enforcement subdural restraint and compression, and the manner of death is homicide. >> the medical testimony is very damning. if i wanted someone with hemophilia, the inability to clot blood properly in their system and stab them, i couldn't turn around and say it was the hemophilia that killed them, not me stabbing them. the prosecution is kind of turning the case, george floyd dying, into just that. you have to take him as he is. and that knee upon his neck is what caused him to die. >> the prosecution is likely to rest its case in the coming days. closing arguments are expected next week. juries told to pack a bag as they'll be sequestered while deliberating. for floyd's family, closure and justice can't come soon enough. >> the sheer inhumanity that was demonstrated by derek chauvin as he was murdering my cousin, it was just a lot to watch. >> i want to believe, and i

think i have to believe that the outcome is going to be the one that we parade for. >> but in a city on edge, daunte wright's death a reminder even justice doesn't promise peace. >> we keep thinking okay, this time is going to be different, but things keep happening. for me, are there more people who are being vocal about it? there are. but could you be any more vocal than we all have been over the last year and really believe that something like this could happen again? yeah, i don't think so. >> and coming up, the soldier and the routine traffic stop now sparking a nationwide reckoning of force. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. we do it every night.

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promising to defend america from enemies foreign and domestic, one soldier in windsor, virginia finding himself held at gunpoint here at home. the police encounter captured on camera, and now at the center of renewed cries for racial justice in america. here is abc's steve steve >> reporter: it's starting to feel that not a day goes by in america without a police encounter with a black or brown man that's gone wrong. >> no justice! >> no peace! >> reporter: cameras in every pocket and now on every police vest are forcing change in police departments across the country. it's police interactions like the shooting death of daunte wright in brooklyn center, minnesota, that has people calling for more training for police officers. the officer who police say fired

the bullet mistook her gun for her taser, according to police. and there is a push in communities everywhere to keep the next daunte wright from being shot for expired tags and the next george floyd from losing his life after being accused of using a fake $20 bill. outside richmond, virginia there are calls for police training after this alarming video was released over the weekend. >> what are you, a specialist? >> i'm a lieutenant. >> reporter: police in windsor, virginia announced they fired one of the officers seen in this body camera video that has angered everyone from the goveror to people in the u.s. army to civil rights groups. >> get out of the car now. get out of the car! >> reporter: behind the wheel of this newly purchased brand-new suv is a u.s. army second lieutenant, clearly dressed in army fatigues. lieutenant caron nazario is black and latino, and the police say they pulled him over because his vehicle was missing a rear license plate. but as you can see right here, it has a temporary license plate

displayed in the back. >> i'm honestly afraid to get out. >> yeah you should be. >> reporter: when he refuses to leave the car, the officer who was now fired pulls out the pepper spray. >> please, relax. >> get out of the car right now. >> i'm actively serving this country, and this is how you're going treat me? i didn't do anything. whoa, hold on! what's going -- hold on. >> watch it. watch it. why am i being treated like this? >> reporter: the traffic stop was in december, and in the police report, one of the officers wrote that the lieutenant was eluding police because he didn't stop right away. in his lawsuit the lieutenant says it was less than two minutes, and he wanted to pull over into this well lit area. he was released with no charges, and is now suing the police in federal court. >> why does this continue to occur, right? it's not new. the body cameras may be new. the violence isn't. >> reporter: in a statement, windsor police announced that officer joe gutierrez has been fired, saying that at the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined

that windsor police department policy was not followed. abc news has not received a response for comment from the department or the police officers involved. the local police now say they've ordered additional training for officers department wide starting in january, and the state police of virginia have announced that they are investigating this incident. >> and for more on the use of force by police, earlier this evening i spoke to lieutenant yolanda williams of the san francisco police department and marc lamont hill, a professor of media studies at temple university. thank you both so much for being with us tonight. lieutenant williams, i want to start with you. you see those images, images we have seen before. we almost expect to see them every few months. what does this say about the state of policing in our country? >> it really is an example of, again, the need for real police reform. it is time for us to start ensuring that there is no more police brutality directed wards

our black young men and women. >> and mark, i want to bring you in. it feels like we're on fragile ground. these two fresh videos showing the excessive force we have seen so many times before. what does this say about training and how far or how far we haven't come since last may? >> yeah, you know, after the tragic killing of george floyd and breonna taylor, many people saw it as a reckoning for the nation. and we have turned a corner to the extent that we're focused on it more and we're having the conversations. but the type of deep structural problems that caused state violence to happen, that cause black people to lose their lives a the hands of police officers so often is something that we can't fix in a moment. it's going to take a real reimagining of the role of policing and the state in our society. >> and lieutenant williams, turning to that video of second lieutenant nazario that we just show you'd a couple of moments ago, what do you think this says about the response of police? do you think that was appropriate how officers responded?

>> the response from the police officers was totally inappropriate, and i can understand the lieutenant feeling that it was important for him to be in a lighted area. because we've heard so many times of incidents involving police brutality and fortunately he was in a lit area and the body worn cameras revealed exactly what had occurred. and he was totally -- his rights were totally violated. >> and mark, in that video that we can could see nazario put his hands out the window, he told the officers that he was afraid to get out of the cars. one of the officers told him that he should be. what do you think it says about someone who signed up to risk his life for this country who is here at home, afraid of people meant to protect him? >> it says everything. the fact that someone can go to war potentially, someone who is prepared to put their life on the line still feels terrified says everything about what it means to be black in america. it says that we don't feel protected by police.

we don't feel safe when they show up. this is why he needs to go to a lit area. this is why he wanted to ask why he was being pulled over. this is why he was reluctant to get out of the car. he didn't feel that it was reasonable to give them the benefit of the doubt given everything we've seen in recent years. this is tragic. >> and now to both of you what, more needs to be done so we can stop seeing the incidents that we keep seeing over and over again? >> i think that we do need to have more training geared towards de-escalation, geared towards showing respect to everyone. we see black people being treated like they're less than human, and it is totally unacceptable. >> we need to stop thinking that this is a case of bad apples, and we have to say that this is not a system that is broken. this is a system that is working exactly as it's designed. instead of trying to make the system work we have to find a way to break the current system and build one that is fair and just and humane for everybody. that takes an entirely different level of political well and

commitment. that's something else. >> marc lamont hill and lieutenant yolanda williams, thank you so much both for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >> and we'll be right back with a final note. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme. ♪ the lincoln family of luxury suvs. ♪ ♪ this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms.

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finally here tonight, recapping that news out of brooklyn center, minnesota. for the second night in a row, protesters there defying curfew and taking to the streets, calling for justice for daunte wright, an unarmed black man killed by police. stay with abc news for continuing coverage on that shooting. that's "nightline." be sure to join our conversation with the #turning pointabc. we'll see you right back here at the same time tomorrow. thank you for watching. good night.