Attorney: Potter to testify at trial in Daunte Wright death

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MINNEAPOLIS – The suburban Minneapolis constabulary serviceman who changeable Daunte Wright volition attest at her trial, her lawyer said Tuesday arsenic assemblage enactment began with imaginable panelists being questioned intimately astir their attitudes connected policing, protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Kim Potter's attorney, Paul Engh, told a imaginable juror that she would perceive straight from Potter astir the postulation halt that ended successful the decease of the 20-year-old Black motorist past April. Potter has said she meant to usage her Taser connected Wright but grabbed her handgun by mistake.

“Officer Potter volition attest and archer you what she remembers happened, truthful you volition cognize not conscionable from the video but from the officers astatine the country and Officer Potter herself what was occurring,” Engh said. “I deliberation (you) should beryllium rather funny successful proceeding what she had to say.”

Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter. She changeable Wright arsenic helium tried to thrust distant from a postulation halt successful Brooklyn Center connected April 11 — a clip erstwhile erstwhile Minneapolis constabulary serviceman Derek Chauvin’s proceedings was underway for the killing of George Floyd and tensions were precocious successful the area. Wright’s decease sparked respective nights of protests successful Brooklyn Center and revived achy memories of the sometimes convulsive unrest that erupted aft Floyd’s decease successful May 2020.

The prospective jurors summoned Tuesday had already responded to questionnaires akin to those utilized successful Chauvin’s execution proceedings . Roughly 200 radical were asked what they knew astir the Potter case, their impressions of her and Wright, and their views connected protests and policing successful the Minneapolis country successful caller years.

The archetypal juror to beryllium seated Tuesday, a antheral who said helium is simply a aesculapian editor, said helium has a precise unfavorable presumption of the “blue lives matter” slogan that has emerged successful caller years. He said helium believes it’s little astir supporting constabulary than astir countering the Black Lives Matter movement.

But helium besides said helium opposes the question to abolish oregon defund the police.

“I perfectly judge there’s a request for change," helium said. "But I deliberation defund the constabulary sends a message, a antagonistic message. ... I don’t hold with that connection and I don’t hold with the attack that was taken to defund the police.”

Also seated Tuesday was a retired peculiar acquisition teacher and a bass subordinate successful a stone set who works arsenic an operations manager astatine Target.

The erstwhile teacher said she is simply a parent of 4 big daughters, including 1 she mislaid to bosom crab astir 2 years ago. Asked if she could beryllium fair, the pistillate said yes and added: “I’m a retired teacher and 1 of my students told maine 1 clip that I’m strict-fair.”

The Target worker was seated contempt saying helium has somewhat of a distrust of police, though helium added: "I bash admit that it’s a precise hard occupation … and it’s not thing I could bash myself.”

Among the imaginable jurors dismissed was a pistillate who said connected her questionnaire that Potter should person known the quality betwixt her weapon and her Taser and a antheral who described Black Lives Matter arsenic “Marxist Communist."

That antheral besides said of Wright: “I deliberation if helium would’ve listened to the (police) directions, helium would inactive beryllium with us."

Jurors' names were being withheld and they were not shown connected the livestream of the trial. But efforts to support their identities slipped astatine times, with defence lawyer Earl Gray appearing to accidental 1 prospective juror's sanction aloud and asking the instrumentalist the sanction of his band.

Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu acceptable speech six days for assemblage selection, with opening statements Dec. 8.

Potter's defence squad tin disregard up to 5 jurors without giving a reason, compared with 3 for the prosecution, which is modular successful Minnesota courts. In Chauvin's case, wherever the pretrial publicity was overmuch much intense, the defence was allowed 15 strikes versus 9 for prosecutors. Neither broadside needs to warrant specified a peremptory onslaught unless the different broadside argues it was due to the fact that of a juror's race, ethnicity oregon gender.

Potter said she made an guiltless mistake erstwhile she changeable Wright. She and 2 different officers astatine the scene, including 1 she was training, moved to apprehension Wright aft learning determination was a warrant retired for him connected a gross misdemeanor charge.

As Wright tried to thrust off, Potter, who is white, tin beryllium heard connected her assemblage camera video saying “Taser, Taser Taser” earlier she fired, followed by “I grabbed the incorrect (expletive) gun.” The video shows her holding her handgun for astir 5 seconds earlier firing.

Prosecutors charged Potter, who resigned 2 days aft the shooting, with first- and second-degree manslaughter, saying she was an experienced serviceman who was trained to cognize better. The astir superior complaint requires prosecutors to beryllium recklessness; the lesser lone requires them to beryllium culpable negligence. Minnesota's sentencing guidelines telephone for a condemnation of conscionable implicit 7 years connected the first-degree manslaughter count, and 4 years for second-degree. But prosecutors person said they’ll question a longer sentence.

The assemblage excavation comes from Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and is the state's astir populous county. Hennepin is 74% white, 14% Black, 7.5% Asian and 7% Latino, according to census data. Brooklyn Center is 1 of the astir divers cities successful the state, astatine 46% white, 29% Black, 16% Asian and 15% Latino.

California civilian rights lawyer John Burris, who won a $2.8 cardinal colony for the household of a antheral killed by a transit serviceman successful Oakland who went to situation for grabbing his weapon alternatively of a Taser successful 2009, said jurors typically springiness constabulary the payment of the doubt. But helium said times person changed since Floyd was killed. If the assemblage selected for Potter is arsenic divers arsenic Chauvin's jury, which was fractional radical of color, helium predicted that they'll instrumentality a thoughtful approach.

Mike Brandt, a section attorney, said that if helium was connected the defence team, he'd alternatively person the lawsuit tried successful a agrarian oregon suburban county. He said Hennepin tends to beryllium “more connected the wide side,” with much radical who enactment holding constabulary accountable.

Alfreda Daniels Juasemai, an activistic successful Brooklyn Center, said Chauvin's condemnation bolstered religion successful the courts. She's hoping for a condemnation for Potter, too.

“I person lived successful this state agelong capable to cognize that getting my hopes up is not going to beryllium bully for my intelligence health,” said Daniels Juasemai, who emigrated from Liberia successful 2006. “I bash anticipation that Kim Potter is blameworthy of thing astatine this point, but I americium trying truthful hard to not expect anything.”

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Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative newsman Mohamed Ibrahim contributed to this story.

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Find the AP’s afloat sum of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright

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