Kim Potter screamed and collapsed after shooting Daunte Wright, shows dash cam video
BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA: The defense and prosecution delivered opening statements in the manslaughter trial of Minnesota cop Kimberly Potter. Prosecutors presented a never-seen-before dash cam recording of what happened moments after Daunte Wright, 20, was fatally shot by her. Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter after the incident on April 11 this year. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon at the time said he believed Potter mistakenly fired her handgun instead of the taser, a claim which was backed by bodycam recording where she yelled "Taser! Taser!" just seconds before her gun went off. She was arrested three days later and released on the same day after posting a $10,000 bond.
After the "mistaken" firing claim, Potter's background was looked into which revealed that she had completed training courses in policy and procedures, firearms, and 'felony stop procedures' five months after joining the Brooklyn Center Police Department in 1995. Coming back to the trial, a first-degree manslaughter charge was added after the new Attorney General took over the case. If convicted on both manslaughter charges, Potter could face a maximum of 25 years in jail along with a penalty of $20,000 for the second-degree manslaughter charge. However, she won't be spending that much time behind bars as Minnesota prisoners, based on good behavior, typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and the rest on supervised release.
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Potter fell to the ground screaming after shooting Daunte Wright
A never-seen-before dash camera footage was presented to the jury by prosecutors who will be pushing for a fairly long sentence due to the nature of the crime. Prosecutor Erin Eldridge told the jury the Potter fired a gun that "tore through Daunte' heart" following which she was heard saying, "Oh s**t! I just shot him. I grabbed that wrong f**king gun! I shot him. I am going to prison. I killed a boy." Anthony Luckey, a trainee cop at the time was present when the fatal shot was fired.
He testified in court saying he heard Potter yell "Taser!" a warning which gives time for the officer restraining the detainee to move away. But Luckey said he almost immediately saw a flash, smoke, and heard Potter's gun go off. He was still holding Wright when the shot was fired. Luckey said he was injured by the casing as Potter's gun discharged, highlighting that they were in close vicinity when the latter pulled the trigger. Eldridge told the court that Potter had been a cop longer than Wright had lived. She said she went to work every day knowing her taser and gun were placed on the right and left side of her duty belt.
Eldridge told jurors Potter had completed advanced training on her Taser 7 just a little over a month before she "mistook" her gun for it. She told the jurors in court that Potter had betrayed her badge and failed to uphold her oath as she shot her victim in close range. "We expect them not to betray their badge and to withhold their oath," Eldridge said referencing the trust placed in the police. "We trust them to know wrong from right and left from right," she said in reference to Potter claiming she used the wrong weapon.
She continued, "This case is about the defendant Kim Potter betraying her badge, betraying her oath and betraying her position of trust. And on April 11 she betrayed a 20-year-old kid. She pulled out her firearm pointed it at his chest and she shot and killed Daunte Wright. There is no do-over. When you walk the streets with a loaded firearm, when you're entrusted with a deadly weapon as part of your job, there's no do-over when you take a man's life." Potter will return to court on December 9.