Kim Potter to Be Charged in Killing of Daunte Wright

She'll be charged with second-degree manslaughter
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2021 11:38 AM CDT
Kim Potter to Be Charged in Killing of Daunte Wright
This May 31, 2007 photo shows Officer Kim Potter, part of the Brooklyn Center Police negotiation team in Brooklyn Center, Minn.   (Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via AP)

Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter will be charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright, whom she shot and killed during a Sunday traffic stop. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput made the announcement on Wednesday; Wright's death has been classified as a homicide. The AP reports Potter could face up to 10 years if convicted. The news comes one day after Potter resigned from the force, along with Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon. Potter had been on the force for 26 years and was training officers when she reportedly mistook her gun for her Taser.

NBC News looks at the fates of officers who've recently been involved in Minneapolis-area shooting deaths. St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a 2016 traffic stop. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was found guilty of both third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond and was sentenced to 12.5 years. Derek Chauvin is currently on trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis; Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. (More Daunte Wright stories.)

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