A former white police officer who killed a young black man in the US state of Minnesota by firing a firearm instead of a stun gun was convicted on Thursday (23) of manslaughter.
The 12-person jury took 27 hours over four days to reach a unanimous verdict on the lawsuit by Kimberly Potter, 49, in the April 11 death of Daute Wright, 20, in the Brooklyn Center. , a suburb of Minneapolis.
Potter was convicted on first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges, which have maximum sentences of up to 15 and 10 years, respectively. The full penalty is to be announced on February 18th. The former agent, who resigned two days after the incident, says he is innocent as the death would have been an accident.
In a statement, lawyers for the Wright family said the victim’s relatives were “relieved” by the conviction. “That day will continue to be a traumatic day and another example to America of why we desperately need to change policing, training and protocols,” the statement said.
Wright, stopped by agents for a traffic violation — police say the vehicle’s license plate was irregular and that there was a deodorizer hanging from the rearview mirror, which state law prohibits — was hit with a firearm shot, which it was mistaken, according to the police, for a taser.
During the approach, when checking Wright’s documents, police found that there was an arrest warrant pending as a result of a court hearing he had not attended.
According to records, the victim was responsible for illegal possession of a weapon and for having fled the police in another approach last year. The agents then put Wright under arrest and, according to footage from cameras attached to the uniforms, tried to handcuff him outside the vehicle.
The video then indicates that there was resistance from Wright, who re-enters the car.
A female voice is heard shouting “taser, taser” and, according to the police department, Potter, instead of firing a stun gun, has fired one with lethal ammunition. “Holy shit, I shot him,” she says on the tape.
According to records and eyewitness accounts, he still managed to drive for a few blocks until he crashed his car, unconscious. Police tried to revive him, but Wright was pronounced dead at the scene.
The young man’s death added to the tense atmosphere in Minnesota, which had already registered demonstrations related to the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in May 2020. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the incident.
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