MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Who is Brian B? Cop's powerful Tiktok video on Daunte Wright goes viral: 'How can we mistake taser for a gun'

The veteran cop spoke about the huge weight difference between a taser and a gun and said that if a cop can't tell which is which, then they should not be doing a police job

A viral video on TikTok shows a police officer demonstrating how it's impossible for a seasoned cop to mistake their gun for a taser. His comments come a week after former Minnesota cop Kim Potter fatally shot a 20-year-old unarmed Black man, Daunte Wright, at a traffic stop for allegedly resisting arrest.

Identified as Brian B, the police officer in the TikTok video, readies his belt to show the positioning of his 'dominant' and 'not so dominant' weapons. He elaborates on the weight difference between the 'dominant' gun and the 'not so dominant' taser and comments how anybody who can mistake one for the other in the heat of the moment doesn't deserve to be on the force.

READ MORE

Chris Cuomo says when White kids 'start getting killed' police reform will happen, dubbed 'mentally twisted'

Adam Toledo death: Bodycam footage shows teen was shot by cop within 'eight-tenths of a second' of complying

Who is Brian B?

Brian was recently seen in a TikTok video explaining how seasoned cops like the 26-year Brooklyn Center Police Department veteran Kim Potter simply cannot mistake their gun for a taser. Identified as Brian, the 12-year veteran cop's original TikTok account has been deleted since the video went viral. Brian can be seen readying his belt in the video, before pointing at his department-issued gun and his taser, remarking: "Huge weight difference, guys."

Brian then continues: "I don’t understand how we can mistake a taser for a gun or a gun for a taser. If you’re in the heat of the moment, and you do something like that, you shouldn’t be doing this job.” He adds: "Nobody (dislikes) a bad cop more than a good cop.… I’m not going to put my life on the line to try and fix your stupidity and deal with restoring the peace with my public that I serve just because of your stupid actions."

The video was recently shared on Twitter by human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid. It sees Brian reflecting, "It makes no sense. Ninety-nine percent of our job is communication. You don’t have to be quick to pull out a gun or a taser on somebody and think everybody’s a threat. Not everybody’s a threat. Try talking to them; get to know these people." Shortly after, a debate ensued under his post and Brian's TikTok account vanished. But before that, the video had already garnered about 6M views and 1.4M likes, reports The Independent. It's unclear where Brian is from or which police department he serves under. 

Following Rashid's report on Twitter, users also agreed with the need for more attention to this demonstration made by Brian. "Wait! This is the first time I’ve heard a police officer actually say what we’re saying. We need more of this conversation. A lot more. This is exactly what’s missing in all the police communication: calling out bad behavior and focusing on communication over violence," wrote one. Another claimed, "We need to stop pretending that this was #stupidity. This was not an #accident. This was an intentional #murder. Stop excusing it by referring to it as stupidity. It is the furthest thing from stupidity, it is a well planned #execution."

'Huge weight difference' between Glock and taser

Brian's video comes after The New York Times reported how the fluorescent brightness of tasers distinguished them from guns. The publication also noted that the Brooklyn Center Police Department manual cites the Glock 17, 19 and 26 are all service weapons for standard use issued by the department. All three of those firearms also weigh 'significantly more' than a taser. They also pointed out that Glocks have a safety lock on the trigger, while tasers don't.

While the grips on the two can be similar, based on polymer types, the largest department sanctioned taser is about a pound without its cartridge. Whereas, the lightest among the Glocks that the department uses is already 1.3 pounds without ammunition. With full clips, either of the pistols would be much heavier than the taser, reports the outlet. “If you train enough, you should be able to tell,” Scott A DeFoe, a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department told NYT. Wright's family and several others have shared skepticism over the alleged mixup, considering Potter's veteran status and that she had also reportedly helped train other cops.