The trial of former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter charged in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, continues with Potter taking the stand to testify in her own defense.
Potter, 49, is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 incident. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
A screen grab from police video which shows the traffic stop during which Daunte Wright is fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter (not visible in this frame) is shown as evidence during the opening statements in the trial of Potter in the April 11, 2021 death of Wright in Minneapolis, Dec. 8, 2021.
Signs stand on the south lawn, Nov. 30, 2021, at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis where jury selection begins for former suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter, who says she meant to grab her Taser instead of her handgun when she shot and killed motorist Daunte Wright.
Jim Mone/AP
The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter, it's 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
Wright's death reignited protests against racism and police brutality across the U.S., as the killing took place just outside of Minneapolis, where the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was taking place.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 08, 2021, 12:25 PM EST
Prosecution focuses on Daunte Wright, may introduce 'spark of life' witness
Prosecutor Erin Eldridge told the jury more about 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
"Daunte Wright himself was just 20 years old -- just out of his teens -- still had a close relationship with his mother, had a new baby boy, a loving family and his whole adult life ahead of him," said Eldridge.
A poster of Daunte Wright is seen after the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial was announced at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021.
Nicholas Pfosi/Reuters, FILE
She told the jury that he had a large family that he loved, dreams of being a professional basketball player and plans to enroll in a trade school.
The prosecution is expected to have a "spark of life" witness, a Minnesota legal allowance that lets prosecutors present evidence about a murder victim that paints them in a nuanced light, legal experts say.
-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
Dec 08, 2021, 3:37 PM EST
Prosecution hammers Potter's training
Erin Eldridge, a prosecutor with the Minnesota assistant attorney general's office, is presenting the state's case against former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter.
In an opening statement, Eldridge read for the jury the oath that Brooklyn Center officers take: "I will never betray my badge, my integrity. my character, or the public interest. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions."
In this image provided by the prosecution shows Officer Kim Potter's duty belt as the state delivers their opening statement during the trial of Potter for the April 11, 2021 death of Daunte Wright in Minneapolis, Dec. 8, 2021.
Court TV via AP, Pool
Eldridge told jurors that police officers "have the responsibility to be mindful and attentive and acutely aware of the weapons that they carry and the risks associated with those weapons," targeting Potter's defense that claims Potter had meant to grab her stun gun instead of her firearm when she fatally shot Daunte Wright.
"When it comes to those weapons, they have the responsibility to carry those weapons, and use those weapons appropriately," Eldridge added.
Eldridge told the jury that they'll hear evidence regarding stun gun and firearm training that Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police department, would have had.
Potter carried her weapons on her belt in the same way every day on the job, Eldridge told the jury, and that she wore her firearm on her dominant, right-hand side and her stun gun on her non-dominant, left side.
"She was also trained about the risks of pulling the wrong weapon and that drawing and firing the wrong weapon could kill someone," Eldridge said. "She was trained to carry her weapons in this way. And she was trained on how to use them and how not to use them."
Dec 08, 2021, 10:56 AM EST
Daunte Wright's family enters courtroom
Daunte Wright's siblings -- Damik, Diamond and Dallas -- have arrived at the Hennepin County Government Center ahead of opening statements.
Damik Wright and Diamond Wright siblings of Daunte Wright, arrive at the Hennepin County Government Center for opening statements in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, Dec. 8, 2021 in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images
Daunte's family wants him to be remembered not through the tragedy of his death, but as a brother, son and father who was close with his family.
"On Thanksgiving, we sat there and we watched so many videos of my nephew," Wright's aunt Naisha Wright said tearfully in a past interview with ABC News. "It was just such a beautiful thing, because everybody had a memory of him either cracking jokes or trying to dance -- because he could not dance, but he tried."
She added: "He just had his whole life taken away from him. We had our hearts pulled out of our chests. He was my baby."
Dallas Bryant, right, brother of Daunte Wright, arrives with family at the Hennepin County Government Center, Dec. 8, 2021 in Minneapolis.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Dec 08, 2021, 10:13 AM EST
Names prominent in the trial
The state is expected to deliver its opening statement first, represented by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank.
Judge Chu will call the case, and hand it to the prosecution. Depending on how long each side takes, it is entirely possible the state call its first witness today also.
