With jury set, Potter trial turns to opening statements

MINNEAPOLIS – Jurors volition beryllium presented with starkly antithetic views of the Minnesota constabulary serviceman who killed Black motorist Daunte Wright during opening statements astatine her manslaughter trial Wednesday, with the defence claiming that Kim Potter made an guiltless mistake by pulling her handgun alternatively of her Taser and the prosecution portraying her arsenic a seasoned bull who had gone done extended grooming that warned of specified a mix-up.

Potter, 49, is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter successful Wright’s April 11 decease successful Brooklyn Center. The achromatic erstwhile serviceman – she resigned 2 days aft the shooting – has said she meant to usage her Taser connected the 20-year-old Wright aft helium tried to thrust distant from a postulation halt arsenic officers tried to apprehension him, but that she grabbed her handgun instead.

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Her body camera recorded the shooting.

A mostly achromatic assemblage was seated past week, mounting the signifier for grounds to statesman successful a lawsuit that sparked aggravated demonstrations extracurricular the Brooklyn Center constabulary presumption past spring. Those demonstrations, with protesters often clashing with constabulary successful riot gear, happened arsenic erstwhile Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was connected trial conscionable 10 miles (16 kilometers) distant for sidesplitting George Floyd.

Potter was grooming a caller serviceman when they pulled Wright implicit for having expired licence sheet tags and an aerial freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, according to a transgression complaint.

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When they recovered that Wright had an outstanding apprehension warrant, they tried to apprehension him but helium got backmost into his car alternatively of cooperating. Potter’s body-camera video recorded her shouting “Taser, Taser, Taser” and “I’ll tase you” earlier she fired erstwhile with her handgun. Afterward, she is heard saying, “I grabbed the incorrect (expletive) gun.”

To bolster their assertion that it was an accident, defence attorneys person highlighted Potter’s contiguous absorption and aboriginal body-camera footage that hasn’t been seen by the nationalist successful which Potter is said to person repeatedly expressed remorse. But they person besides asserted that Potter was wrong her rights to usage deadly unit if she had consciously chosen to bash truthful due to the fact that Wright’s actions endangered different officers astatine the scene.

“She believed the usage of a Taser was due erstwhile she saw Mr. Wright’s abject denial of his lawful apprehension coupled with his attempted flight,” defence lawyer Paul Engh wrote successful a pretrial filing seeking to disregard 1 of the charges. “She could person changeable him.”

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Prosecutors person countered that Potter had been trained connected Taser usage respective times during her 26-year constabulary career, including doubly successful the six months that preceded the shooting. In 1 of their ain pretrial filings, they cited grooming that explicitly warns officers astir confusing a handgun with a Taser and directs them “to larn the differences betwixt their Taser and firearm to debar specified confusion.”

Potter, they argued successful their filing, “consciously and intentionally acted successful choosing to usage unit connected Daunte Wright and successful reaching for, drawing, pointing, and manipulating a weapon.”

A assemblage of 14 people, including 2 achromatic alternates, volition perceive the case. Nine of the 12 jurors apt to deliberate are white, 1 is Black and 2 are Asian.

The jury’s radical constitution is astir successful enactment with the demographics of Hennepin County, which is astir 74% white. But the assemblage is notably little divers than the 1 that convicted Chauvin successful Floyd’s killing.

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Potter has told the tribunal she volition testify.

The astir superior complaint against Potter requires prosecutors to beryllium recklessness, portion the lesser requires them to beryllium culpable negligence. Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines telephone for a situation word of conscionable implicit 7 years connected the first-degree manslaughter number and 4 years connected the second-degree one. Prosecutors person said they volition question a longer sentence.

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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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