By Nathan Layne for Reuters
A Minnesota jury on Thursday found former police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop at which she mistakenly discharged her handgun instead of her Taser.
A demonstrator holds images of Daunte Wright outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 23 December. Photo: AFP or licensors
A 12-member jury found Potter, 49, guilty of first degree and second degree manslaughter in the death of the 20-year-old Wright, who she killed in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Centre on 11 April with a bullet to the chest.
The shooting sparked multiple nights of intense demonstrators in Brooklyn Centre. It happened just a few kilometres north of where Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was at the same time standing trial for killing George Floyd, a Black man whose 2020 death during an arrest had set off protests in US cities over racism and police brutality.
Chauvin was convicted of murder. Both he and Potter are white.
Caught on Potter's body-worn camera, the basic facts of the incident were for the most part not in dispute. Both prosecutors and the defence attorneys agreed that Potter mistakenly drew the wrong weapon and never meant to kill Wright.
At issue was whether the jury would find her actions to be reckless in violation of the state's manslaughter statutes, or chalk up the incident to a tragic mistake that did not warrant criminal liability.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors stressed Potter's 26 years as a police officer, a level of experience they said made her mistake indefensible. They said she disregarded her training, which included Taser-specific courses in the months before the shooting, and took a conscious and unreasonable risk in using any weapon against the unarmed Wright.
Potter's attorneys sought to blame Wright for resisting arrest, which they argued had created a dangerous situation and justified her use of force. While acknowledging her mistake, they said her actions were not criminal because she thought she was using her Taser and was unaware she had drawn her handgun.
The defence also leaned heavily on Dr Laurence Miller, a psychologist who testified about "action error," or when a person takes one action while intending to do another. Miller said such mistakes were common and can be triggered by stress.
To secure a conviction on the first degree manslaughter charge, prosecutors were required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Potter caused Wright's death while committing the misdemeanor offense of recklessly using a firearm, according to Minnesota law. For second degree manslaughter, the jury was required to find Potter was guilty of "culpable negligence," meaning she created an "unreasonable risk and consciously" took a chance of causing Wright death or serious bodily harm.
Sentencing will take place in February.
- Reuters