Who Is Kim Potter? Charges Against Former Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter Explained
3 min read
Kim Potter, a former police officer from Minnesota, broke down in tears and apologized during the trial. She was charged with killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright earlier this year.
According to the former police officer, she mistakenly fired a gun at the victim rather than her Taser when the latter was resisting arrest. She also said that the look of fear on her fellow officer’s face prompted her to use a taser.
“I’m sorry it happened!” Potter shouted while under cross-examination in Hennepin County District Court. “I’m so sorry!”
As Kim Potter’s attorneys explained in the hearing, the “use of force” was justified due to Daunte Wright allegedly posing a threat to officers during the incident.
Even the use of a taser was “unreasonable,” according to use-of-force expert Seth Stoughton:
“[A police officer] would not have concluded that there was an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm, and thus the use of force was excessive.”
According to prosecutors, Kim Potter should have been able to distinguish between a taser and a handgun after more than a decade of training, based on testimony taken across eight days.
Kim Potter is facing two charges of manslaughter after being charged with recklessness and negligence. The assistant Minnesota attorney general asserted the fatal shooting resulted from her “recklessness and negligence.”
Charges Against Former Officer Kim Potter Explained
Earlier this month, Kim Potter’s trial for killing Daunte Wright began with opening statements. After a tearful defendant broke down mid-trial on Friday, December 17, the hearing ended.
First-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges have been filed against the former Minnesota cop. He killed the 20-year-old victim accidentally during a traffic stop scuffle last April.
First-degree manslaughter is committed by recklessly handling or using a firearm while causing severe bodily harm or death to another individual by using force or violence under certain circumstances.
Kim Potter is accused of causing Daunte Wright’s death while committing a misdemeanor, according to prosecutors.
How Did Kim Potter Kill Daunte Wright?
The traffic stop allegedly occurred when officers pulled over Daunte Wright’s white Buick on April 11, 2021. An air freshener was allegedly seen sticking out of the rearview mirror of Wright’s car.
Wright’s car’s license plate tabs had also expired. Along with minor traffic violations, officers observed Wright was driving with an expired license plate. A warrant for Daunte Wright’s arrest was found during the investigation, as he had failed to appear in court on a weapons charge the previous summer; he fled from the police the summer before.
Luckey then demanded that Wright exit his car and place handcuffs on him after finding the weapons. Kim Potter issued the taser warning after the second suspect tried to get into his car and pull away from the officer.
In the moments after the warning, Potter pulled her handgun from her pocket and shot at Wright, hitting him in the left side. Upon impact, the bullet pierced the victim’s heart and left lung, resulting in his death on the spot.
A body camera video viewed in court showed Potter realizing the consequences of what she did right after the shooting:
“S**t, I just shot him. I grabbed the wrong f***ing gun and I shot him. I’m going to go to prison. And I killed the boy.”
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
