Jurors in the trial of a Minnesota policewoman who said she mistook her pistol for an electric stunner found the officer guilty on two counts of manslaughter in the death of black motorist Daunte Wright.
Kim Potter, who is Caucasian, fired during a traffic stop after he allegedly mistook his firearm for his Taser-type stun gun.
The majority white jury deliberated for about four days before finding the former Brooklyn Center cop guilty of first- and second-degree murder.
Potter, 49, could face up to seven years in prison on the most serious charge, according to state sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they would seek a longer sentence.
Judge Regina Chu ordered Potter to be held without bail and scheduled her sentence for February 18.
Potter, who testified that he “didn’t want to hurt anyone,” looked down without showing any visible reaction when the verdicts were read. As the judge thanked the jury, Potter crossed himself.
Potter’s attorneys argued against her detention without bail, claiming that she was not going to commit another crime or go anywhere.
“His remorse and regret over the incident is overwhelming,” argued Potter’s attorney, Paul Engh. “She is not a danger to the public at all.”
Chu rejected their arguments. “I cannot treat this case differently from any other case,” he said.
Potter shot and killed Wright, 20, during an April 11 traffic stop at Brooklyn Center as she and other officers attempted to arrest her in connection with a pending warrant for weapons possession.
The shooting occurred at a time of high tension in the area, as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was on trial just a few kilometers (miles) away for the murder of George Floyd. Potter resigned two days later.
Jurors viewed videos of the shooting recorded by body cameras and cameras in a police patrol car. They showed Potter and an agent she was training, Anthony Luckey, arresting Wright for having expired license plates and an air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror.
During the stop, Luckey discovered that there was a warrant for Wright’s arrest for failing to appear in court on the weapons possession charge, and he, Potter, and another police officer proceeded to try to arrest Wright.
–
