On Sunday, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old unarmed Black man, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Police officials called Wright’s death the result of an “accidental discharge,” an excuse that no one, including The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, is buying.
“You have got to be f*cking kidding me,” he said during Monday’s episode. “A man was killed at a traffic stop because the police officer mixed up their gun and their taser. Is that even supposed to be a legitimate excuse? Like, we’re supposed to watch that and go, ‘Ah, OK, one time I used sugar instead of salt so I can relate.’ Look, I’m not saying that tragic mistakes will never happen, but what I am saying is that maybe if the police weren’t so quick to draw any weapon then maybe people wouldn’t die because of a mixup from Officer Urkel over here.”
Noah, who finds it “amazing” that cops think everything is a gun “except for their own gun,” also brought attention to a video of Army lieutenant Caron Nazario being held at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed by the police. “This is fucked up,” he said, adding, “And don’t forget, please don’t forget, this is how the cops treated one of the troops while he was wearing his uniform. Not a hoodie, not baggy pants, so what’s the excuse this time? I mean, if a Black man in military uniform can’t get humane treatment from the police, then what chance does every other Black person in America have?” He continued:
“But if you’re surprised that a member of the military is having his rights abused, then you need to understand that the police don’t give a sh*t. They don’t care if you’re a member of the military. They don’t care if you’re a beloved member of the community. They don’t care if you’re recording them. Sh*t, they don’t even care if they’re recording themselves. And the reason they don’t care is because they know that they’re going to get away with this. And until that changes, they are just going to keep not caring.”
You can watch the clip above.