The man, Daunte Wright, 20, who died Sunday after a run-in with police in a suburb of Minneapolis, was driving an SUV with expired license plates, and he also ran afoul of a Minnesota law that prohibits motorists from hanging air fresheners and other items from their rearview mirrors.
"He was pulled over for having an expired registration on the vehicle," Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Monday. "When the officer went over, an item hanging from the rearview mirror was spotted."
It was after that, Gannon said, that the officers discovered that a "gross misdemeanor warrant" for Wright's arrest had been issued.
Minutes later, a gunshot rang out, and Wright joined the ranks of other Black motorists who have died after having been pulled over by police, a group that includes Philando Castile, 32, who was fatally shot in 2016 by a suburban Minneapolis police officer after he was stopped for a broken taillight. His final moments were recorded in a powerful video.