A jury found former Brooklyn Center, Minn., Police Officer Kim Potter guilty of manslaughter in the death of black driver, after 27 hours of deliberations.
Wright was shot and killed by Potter after she pulled him over. They tried to arrest him when he tried to take off with his girlfriend in the car.
Potter is shown threatening to use her stun gun multiple times during the struggle to remove him from the car. She grabbed her gun instead of firing a shot. Potter exclaimed: "I grabbed the wrong gun."
She was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, according to Minnesota law, and also a second-degree charge, for causing someone's death through culpableNegligence, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Kim Potter. The video is from Court TV.
At one point, the jury appeared to be unable to make a decision. The panel sent a question to the judge asking if the jury can reach a consensus and what steps should be taken.
Chu gave the jury instructions before. She said that if you can do so without violating your individual judgement, then you should discuss the case with one another.
The state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Potter mishandled her gun and that she showed negligent behavior that resulted in Wright's death.
Potter should have known the difference in weight and feel of the weapons because prosecutors focused on her training. According to court testimony, she has carried a gun on her duty belt for 26 years. Prosecutors said there was no excuse for weapons confusion because Potter retrained for use of both.
The defendants told the jury that her sons would be home for the holidays. During closing arguments, the prosecuting attorney said that Daunte Wright wouldn't be home for the holidays.
There are pictures of Daunte Wright outside of the courthouse. Kerem Yucel is a photographer.
The case is about an officer who mishandled her gun. Even if you take the defendants word for it, that is what she did. She told you in court that she knew it was wrong.
Potter broke down while giving her account of what happened when she testified last week, saying, "We were trying to keep him from driving away, it just went chaotic 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266
Potter had the right to use her taser and gun, but her fellow officers were in danger, so she had to use them, according to Potter's defense team.
Did they prove that she caused the death? No. Earl Gray, her defense attorney, said during his closing arguments that Daunte Wright caused his own death.
The two officers who were involved in the incident, Anthony Luckey and Mychal Johnson, believed she was justified based on comments made in court and on the day of the incident. He walked the jury through what happened when officers told Wright to get out of the car.
Wright hesitated and asked why. He could have taken him and thrown him against the car and put his knee on his neck because he was a nice guy. He said to put your hands behind your back.
A knee on the neck is a reference to the killing of George Floyd.
He all of a sudden breaks away. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the cause. That's what caused the incident. If he had gone with the officers, been handcuffed, and taken to the squad car, it would have been over.
On April 11, 2021, Wright was stopped for a traffic violation. In the pool, Court TV via AP.
Potter was argued to be responsible by Eldridge.
She is responsible for her choices and actions. Wright did not cause his own death. This was preventable. It didn't have to happen. She said that it was a tragedy of her own making. Her actions were reckless and rash.
In an interview with Yahoo News Tuesday, Benjamin Crump described the family as very emotional and anxious.
He is co-counsel for the family and drew parallels between the case and that of Mohamed Noor, a Black former Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty in the shooting death of a white female in 2019.
He apologized in the case of Officer Noor. I didn't mean it. It was a mistake. He cried. He was sorry. He said that the reason he did what he did was to protect his fellow officer. I was concerned about his safety. I didn't want him to be killed,' said the lawyer, who added that a court in Minnesota decided that he violated police department policies.
They sentenced him to 12 years in prison for killing a white woman in a dark place, which many believe is worse than Kim Potter. They couldn't see what she was reaching for. If it did not work for him, why should Potter escape responsibility? We can't have two different systems of justice.
He said that they want equal justice for Wright. Don't change your rules when a child is dead.
The makeup of the jury included nine white people, two Asian Americans and one black person. There were men and women. Their ages ranged from 20s to 60s.
The sentencing will take place on Feb. 18, 2022, at 9 a.m. Potter will be held without bail until then.
