- Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April shootings of Daunte Wright.
- Defense attorneys plan to argue that Potter made an “innocent mistake,” according to court filings.
- Opening statements in a trial to be broadcast live are expected to begin December 8.
Jury selection will begin Tuesday in the manslaughter trial of a former Minnesota police officer who shot dead a Black man while shouting “Taser” in a traffic arrest earlier this year.
Kim Potter is charged with first and second degree manslaughter in the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright on April 11 in the Minneapolis suburb of Central Brooklyn. Potter is a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Central Police Department, and the sheriff resigned two days later.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is prosecuting the case. Potter is being represented by attorneys Earl Gray and Paul Engh. Gray also represents a former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd and previously represented a police officer. shot and killed Philando Castile while stopping traffic outside St. Paul.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the Wright family.
Attorneys did not respond to a request for comment prior to the jury’s choice.
To convict on first-degree manslaughter, prosecutors must prove that Potter caused Wright’s death while committing a misdemeanor of reckless handling or use of a firearm.
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For second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors must prove Potter consciously caused Wright’s death or bodily harm. That charge requires prosecutors to demonstrate “probable negligence” – a conscious and negligent act of substantial and untenable risk.
Defense attorneys intend to argue Potter, 49, made an “innocent mistake”, according to court records. First degree manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. Second-degree court fees carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine.
The opening statement of the trial, which will be broadcast live, is expected to begin on December 8.
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Based on complaint, Potter, who is white, and another officer she was training with initially stopped Wright’s car because it had an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror and tags. expired. After the official determines Wright has a pending arrest warrantPotter and two other officers attempted to arrest him.
Full-body camera video released shortly after Wright’s death shows Wright following instructions from officers to get out of the vehicle and put his hands behind his back. As an officer attempted to handcuff Wright, he backed away and returned to the driver’s seat.
“I’ll help you,” Potter yelled as she pulled out her shotgun and pointed it at Wright. She shouted “I’ll tease you” and “Taser, Taser, Taser” before firing a single shot in Wright’s chest. According to the complaint, the bullet went through one of his ribs, his lungs, and his heart.
“Ah, he shot me,” Wright said before driving the car down the road and crashing into another vehicle.
Potter shouted some profanity and said she had “wrongly picked up” the gun. “I shot him,” she said. She added: “I’m going to jail” and “I killed a boy.”
A woman in the car with Wright was taken to the hospital.Wright is presumed dead at the scene. A medical examiner later found Wright dead in the murder from a gunshot wound.
Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center police chief who resigned, called the shooting an “accidental electrical discharge.”
Potter was arrested three days after the shooting and charged with second degree manslaughter. Prosecutors pay the first level fee in September. Activists demand murder charges.
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Daunte Wright killing causes tension, fuels protests
Wright’s death has sparked nationwide tension over police violence, and protests and tributes to Wright have taken place across the country. Take a shot happened just a few miles from Derek Chauvin’s ongoing trial, a former Minneapolis police officer who was eventually convicted in the murder of George Floyd.
In Downtown Brooklyn, hundreds gathered nightly at the police station, where police and the Minnesota National Guard responded with riot gear, rubber bullets and tear gas. Businesses were looted, and the governor declared curfews in several counties. Dozens of people were arrested.
One night, journalists covering the protests were rounded up by law enforcement, were forced into their stomachs and released only after their faces and press releases were photographed.
President Joe Biden called the shooting “a really tragic thing” and said he watched the “quite graphic” bodycam video. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the shooting was “a reminder of the pain, the anger, the trauma, the exhaustion that many communities around the country have felt as we’ve watched them.” these incidents keep happening.”
Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, describes her son as a family man Who enjoyed the 4th of july anniversary. She loves going around, playing sports and pampering her 2-year-old son with the same name, Daunte Jr., she said. He was planning to get his GED. Katie Wright said her son called her while he was being pulled over.
“He’s more than that, and he doesn’t deserve it. My heart is literally broken into a thousand pieces,” said Wright. told reporters on the vigil two days after her son’s death.
Father Al Sharpton sent Wright’s eulogy the end of that month. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Tina Smith, Representative Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and family members of Floyd attended Wright’s funeral.
Because of the high-profile nature of the murder, attorneys are expected to carefully question potential jurors about their prior knowledge of the case.
Prior to jury selection, potential jurors received a 15-page questionnaire from the court asked about individuals’ backgrounds, media habits, and views on law enforcement and the criminal justice system. The questionnaire asked about their views on Potter and Wright and whether they participated in or suffered property damage as a result of any protests in the past two years.
Similar questionnaires were used in the jury selection process for the widely viewed trials of Chauvin and three men were convicted this month of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery At georgia.
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According to prosecutors, Kim Potter received ‘a lot’ training on Tasers
Transparent Her time in the force, Potter is a union leader and instructor. She was elected president of the Central Brooklyn Police Association in 2019.
Potter received “a substantial amount of training” related to the use of force, according to the lawsuit. She completed annual recertification training in firearms and Taser and in the six months prior to the incident, she completed two Taser-specific training courses.
Potter’s taser looks and feels different from her shotgun, the lawsuit says. While her Taser is yellow with a black stock, her shotgun is completely black. The pistol’s construction had a “different grip” and the Taser had a safety switch that had to be removed before it could be fired, according to the lawsuit.
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An investigation following the shootings by USA TODAY and the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University found that Quests have involved hundreds of people dead and injured over the past decade due to substandard or inconsistent training for law enforcement.
Already have at least 15 other “weapon confusion” cases in the US since 2001, and Wright is the fourth person to die in such incidents, according to data compiled by the website FatalEncounters.org and University of Colorado professor Paul Taylor.
Hennepin District Court Judge Regina Chu initially said she would not allow the hearing to be recorded or broadcast live, then reversed the decision earlier this month, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Chu’s reversal came three days later protestors against the decision Outside what they believe is her home, according to local news outlets.
Minnesota Allows cameras inside the courtroom to broadcast a criminal trial for the first time earlier this year, for Chauvin’s trial.
Court officials said there would be no fence surrounding the court as there was for Chauvin’s trial. But there will be enhanced security measures.
