Daunte Wright killing | Cop who shot Black man arrested, charged with manslaughter

Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department who turned in her badge on Tuesday, was taken into custody by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at the agency's office in nearby St. Paul

April 15, 2021 03:25 am | Updated 03:25 am IST - MINNEAPOLIS

Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who resigned from the Brooklyn Center police force, poses for a booking photograph at Hennepin County Jail for fatally shooting 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021.

Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who resigned from the Brooklyn Center police force, poses for a booking photograph at Hennepin County Jail for fatally shooting 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. April 14, 2021.

The white police officer whose fatal shooting of a young Black motorist during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb ignited three nights of protests and civil unrest was arrested on Wednesday and charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department who turned in her badge on Tuesday, was taken into custody by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at the agency's office in nearby St. Paul,authorities said.

She was booked into Hennepin County jail and charged with second-degree manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, 20, on Sunday in Brooklyn Center, where she will await her first court appearance in the case, prosecutors said in astatement.

Potter, 48, was being held without bond, jail records showed.

Former city Police Chief Jim Gannon, who also resigned on Tuesday, has said police video shows Potter apparently drew her hand gun instead of her Taser by mistake when she opened fire on Wright, after he broke away from a fellow officer and climbed back into his car.

Wright's family members and their lawyer have rejected that notion that an accident was to blame for Wright's death.

The Washington County Attorney's Office said Potter was acting as her partner's field training officer at the time of the shooting.

"Certain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer," Imran Ali, assistantcriminal division chief and director of the major crimes unit for the County Attorney's Office, said in the statement.

"We will vigorously prosecute this case and intend to prov ethat Officer Potter abrogated her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm rather than her Taser," he said. "Her action caused the unlawful killing of Mr. Wright, and she must be held accountable."

Wright was shot on Sunday after being pulled over for an expired automobile registration, and officers discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest, according to the official police account of the confrontation.

In police video of the incident, Potter can be heardshouting, "Holy shit, I just shot him," after she fires a singleshot that struck Wright in the chest.

To convict Potter of second-degree manslaughter under Minnesota law, prosecutors must show that she was "culpably negligent" and took an "unreasonable risk" in her actions against Wright. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, representing Wright's family, said in a statement on Wednesday that the charge fell short of fulfilling a greater need for police reform in the United States.

"While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back. This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force.

"Driving while Black continues to result in a death sentence," Crump said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.