Lawmakers take closer look at law banning air fresheners

Minnesota law prohibits motorists from hanging objects from their car's rearview mirror, though an infraction seldom leads to a ticket.

But in the wake of the police killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was shot by a white officer during a traffic stop April 11, the law is getting fresh attention. Two state legislators have introduced a measure that would repeal the law, which advocates say gives police an excuse to target Black drivers.

Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter shot Wright after mistaking her gun for her Taser, according to police. Police later said they stopped Wright because he was driving with expired license tabs, but Wright's mother, Katie Wright, has said she was on the phone with her son during the stop, and he believed he was being stopped for having an air freshener dangling from his car's rearview mirror.

https://www.startribune.com/lawmakers-take-closer-look-at-law-banning-air-fresheners/600050144/