Who is Curt Boganey? Brooklyn Center Mayor Mark Elliott FIRES city manager for refusing to sack Kimberly Potter
BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA: In a surprising turn of events, the Brooklyn Center City Manager, Curt Boganey, has been relieved of his duties after he publicly disagreed with Mayor Mark Elliott and his assertion of firing the police officer who fatally shot a Black man named Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis suburb on Sunday, April 11.
Elliott confirmed the news of Boganey’s firing on Twitter and noted that the city manager is being “relieved of his duties” with immediate effect. He also shared that the deputy city manager, Reggie Edwards, will be taking Boganey’s position.
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“Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward. I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government,” Mayor Elliott wrote on Twitter.
Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward. I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government.
— Mayor Mike Elliott (@mayor_elliott) April 12, 2021
Let’s dig a little deeper and get to know about Curt Boganey.
Who is Curt Boganey and why was he fired?
Curt Boganey did his schooling at Muskegon Heights High School in Michigan and went on to do his graduation from Oakland University. He studied BA Economics there and passed out of the prestigious university in 1974. Boganey became the city manager of Brooklyn Park in 1996 and held on that position for more than five years.
In 2003, he became city manager of Brooklyn Center. As the city manager, Boganey served as the chief executive of city government and typically oversaw all city staff, as well as carry out the council's laws and communicate other decisions. He also controlled the police department.
However, everything started to go downhill after the recent incident where a police officer shot Daunte Wright just before he was getting back into his car and was driving to the Brooklyn Center. While addressing a press conference, Mayor Elliott said the police officer (Kimberly Potter) who fatally shot Daunte should be “fired” and Boganey, as city manager, had all the authority to take the appropriate decision.
“Let me be very clear – my position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession. I do fully support releasing the officer of her duties,” Elliott said during the conference.
However, Boganey refused to remove the officer from her position and noted that he would not be firing the police officer right now. “All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline. This employee will receive due process and that’s really all that I can say today,” Boganey added.
The mayor took the statement as an insult and just hours after the press conference, he announced that Boganey has been fired. According to the Star Tribune, the council of Brooklyn Center City voted to fire Boganey during an emergency meeting. The council also decided that the mayor will now be having complete authority over the city’s police department.
However, there were few members who voted Boganey out of fear of “potential reprisals from protesters.” “He was doing a great job. I respect him dearly. I didn’t want repercussions at a personal level,” Council Member Kris Lawrence-Anderson said.
What really happened that night?
The 20-year-old guy named Daunte Wright was fatally shot during a traffic stop. According to the bodycam footage, three police personnel attempted to arrest Wright for an outstanding warrant. A struggle ensued, following by the fatal shooting. Later, Brooklyn Center Police chief Tim Gannon noted the officer wanted to fire a Taser, not their service weapon.