This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]
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Second-degree manslaughter charge for Brooklyn Center police officer who shot Daunte Wright
By:   ['Max Nesterak Is The Deputy Editor Of The Reformer', 'Reports On Labor', 'Housing. Most Recently He Was An Associate Producer For Minnesota Public Radio After A Stint At Npr. He Also Co-Founded The Behavioral Scientist', 'Was A Fulbright Scholar To Berlin', 'Max Nesterak']
Date: 2021-04-14 00:00:00

The Brooklyn Center police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on Sunday will face a second-degree manslaughter charge, reported first by Minnesota Lawyer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

While Kimberly Potter, 48, will be charged in Hennepin County where the killing took place, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput made the decision to charge the 26-year veteran officer under an agreement among metro area county attorney’s offices to refer cases to another county to avoid any conflict of interest.

Potter resigned from the department on Tuesday and was taken into custody Wednesday morning by Bureau of Criminal Affairs agents, according to MPR News.

Wright was stopped for expired license plate tabs, according to Brooklyn Center officials. Officers then tried to take him into custody under a warrant for his arrest for failing to make a first court appearance. He was facing charges of carrying a pistol without a permit and fleeing police.

Body camera footage released by the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday show an officer putting handcuffs on Wright as Potter approaches. Wright then appears to struggle with officers before sitting back into the driver’s seat. Potter shouted “taser” three times before shooting Wright with her service weapon, apparently mistaking it for her taser according to Brooklyn Center officials.

Potter will be represented by attorney Earl Gray, according to the Star Tribune. He has represented a number of police officers charged in high-profile killings including Thomas Lane, who is charged in the death of George Floyd, and Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castile in the Twin Cities suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop in 2016. Yanez was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter.

Wright’s family has not yet filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Brooklyn Center but is being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who won an unprecedented $27 million settlement from the city of Minneapolis for the death of Floyd last May.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Wright’s mother Katie spoke about how her son called her after being pulled over. She said she asked Daunte to give the phone over to the police officers so that she could give them the insurance information. Officers then asked Wright to step out of the car. Katie Wright said she heard a commotion before the call ended. Then the woman who was riding with Daunte called Katie and said he had been shot.

“She pointed the phone toward the driver’s seat and my son was laying there, responsive. That was the last time I seen my son. That’s the last time I heard from my son, and I have had no explanation,” Katie Wright said.

The explanation that Potter accidentally shot Wright did not satisfy family members and activists, who questioned how a 26-year veteran could mistake a gun for a taser.

Instances of officers mistaking a gun for a taser are rare, but not unheard of, according to a Tuesday report in the New York Times.

“My brother lost his life because they were trigger happy,” Wright’s older brother Dallas Bryant said during a vigil on Monday evening. “I could tell my brother was scared. I could hear it in his voice. And for them to call it an accident or a mistake? To be honest, it’s just straight bulls***.”

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting.

Wright’s killing has been followed by three nights of protests outside the Brooklyn Center police station. Some protesters lobbed water bottles and bricks at police and shot fireworks. Police returned fire with tear gas, rubber bullets and other crowd control weapons. Dozens of protesters were arrested on Monday and Tuesday nights on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to rioting.

This story is developing and will be updated.

[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/04/14/second-degree-manslaughter-charge-for-brooklyn-center-police-officer-who-shot-daunte-wright/