Outcome reached in Kim Potter trial over Daunte Wright's death

Kim Potter is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.

ByKiara Alfonseca
Last Updated: December 23, 2021, 6:41 PM EST

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.

PHOTO: 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) in Minneapolis, Dec. 8, 2021.
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.
Court TV via AP, Pool
PHOTO: Signs stand on the south lawn, Nov. 30, 2021, at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis where jury selection begins for former police officer Kim Potter, who shot and killed motorist Daunte Wright.
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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 17, 2021, 1:23 PM EST

Prosecution questions Kim Potter on training

Kim Potters was asked about the department's Taser policy, which she said states "that all training should include performing reaction hand draws or cross draws to reduce the possibility of accidentally drawing and firing a firearm."

She also maintained that she received extensive use of force training.

"Part of the reason for that is weapons confusion, right?" the prosecution asked.

"Yes," Potter replied. 

"And that was known in the field and has been known for a number of years," the prosecution continued.

"We talked about it," Potter said.

Potter wore her Taser on her left side and her firearm on her right side, according to her testimony. She said it's been like this since 2016. 

She said she has never deployed her Taser but has pulled it out for de-escalation purposes.

Dec 17, 2021, 1:06 PM EST

Potter describes fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright

Kim Potter was emotional on the witness stand as she described the fatal traffic stop. She shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was being arrested by officers and attempted to flee. 

"I remember a struggle with Officer [Anthony] Luckey and the driver at the door," Potter testified. "The driver was trying to get back into the car … I went around Officer Luckey as they're trying to get back in the door."

PHOTO: Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter testifies in court in Minneapolis, Dec. 17, 2021.
Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter testifies in court in Minneapolis, Dec. 17, 2021. Potter is charged with first and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist, following a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Court TV, via AP, Pool

She added, "They're still struggling and I can see Officer Johnson and the drivers struggling over the gearshifts because I can see Johnson's hand and then I can see his face."

She then described Sgt. Mychal Johnson, who was holding Wright from the passenger side of the car. 

"He had a look of fear on his face -- nothing I'd seen before," she said. "We're trying to keep him from driving away. It just went chaotic. And then I remember yelling, 'Taser, Taser, Taser,' and nothing happened and then [Wright] told me I shot him."

Dec 17, 2021, 12:57 PM EST

Kim Potter on why she pulled over Wright

Kim Potter said she would not have stopped Wright over the air freshener nor the expired registration tabs if she were not field training.

"An air freshener, to me, is not just an equipment violation," she testified. "The COVID times, the high COVID times, the Department of Motor Vehicles was so offline that people weren't getting tabs and we were advised not to try to enforce a lot of those things because the tabs were just not in circulation. Part of field training is that my probationer would make numerous contacts with the public throughout the day," she said, regarding Officer Anthony Luckey, who she was training at the time.

She said that traffic stops can be dangerous for police officers.

"Sometimes there's guns in the car," she testified. "Sometimes there's uncooperative people, you don't know who you're stopping."

Dec 17, 2021, 12:33 PM EST

Potter says she likely never deployed her Taser

Kim Potter said she rarely took her Taser out and doesn't believe she ever deployed it. 

She testified that she sometimes took her Taser out to de-escalate a situation "or to prepare for what might be behind the door. Sometimes an officer has a gun and sometimes an officer has a Taser out."

She said she received her new Taser almost a month before the fatal killing of Daunte Wright. She also said the training she had at the department was focused more on firearms than on Tasers.