'An error can happen,' argues Potter defense
The defense said it plans on introducing Dr. Laurence Miller, a psychologist, to testify about traumatic incidents, police work and action errors, which defense attorney Paul Engh said will be "about how it is that we do one thing while meaning to do another."
The defense is arguing that the fatal shooting was an accident and that Kim Potter meant to reach for her stun gun and not her firearm when she shot Daunte Wright in the chest.
Engh gave examples of common mistakes to the jury -- including writing the wrong date down or putting in an old password into a computer.
"They are ordinarily dismissible, but they become quite important when what happens is catastrophic," Engh said.
"Dr. Miller will tell you in times of chaos, acute stress decisions have to be made when there is no time for reflection," he added. "What happens in these high catastrophic instances is that the habits that are ingrained, the training that's ingrained takes over. In these chaotic situations, the historic training is applied and the newer training is discounted."
Engh said that stun guns have only been available in the last 10 years to the department and this is a brand new stun gun, "whereas, by comparison, Potter has 26 years of gun training. And an error can happen."