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 20, 2021, 10:24 AM EST
Closing arguments begin
Attorneys are making the final case to jurors after eight days of testimony in the trial of former Brooklyn Center Kim Potter, who fatally shot Daunte Wright.
Judge Regina Chu has said that jurors will not deliberate on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25, and they will return after the holiday if a verdict has not been reached.
Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu discusses motions before she presides over court, Dec.16, 2021, in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.
Court TV via AP
The jury is composed of nine white jurors, one Black juror and two Asian jurors. The two alternates are both white. The jury is less diverse than the one that convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin's murder trial was in progress when Potter killed Wright.
Dec 17, 2021, 4:30 PM EST
'I didn't want to hurt anybody,' Potter testifies
As Kim Potter broke down on the stand, prosecutor Erin Eldridge asked, "You knew that deadly force was unreasonable and unwarranted" in the killing of Daunte Wright.
"I'm sorry," Potter said through sobs. "I didn't want to hurt anybody."
Eldridge then pressed, "You testified … that after you saw a scared look on Sgt. [Mychal] Johnson's face, that's why you decided to use the Taser?"
"Yes," Potter replied.
"But you also told Dr. [Laurence] Miller that you don't know why you decided to use the Taser?" Eldridge said.
In this image taken from video, former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter testifies during her trial, Dec. 17, 2021, in Minneapolis. Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting of Daunte Wright.
Pool via ABC
She asked Potter why she remembered some aspects of the shooting in earlier conversations but not on the witness stand.
"You said that there are a lot of things that you don't remember, that you directly testified that your memory came back when you saw your husband that day," Eldridge asked. "But didn't you tell Dr. Miller that you remember seeing the gun in your right hand?"
Potter replied: "I don't remember my interview with him. I was distraught. I wasn't in a good place."
Body camera footage shows Potter sobbing and crying following the shooting, saying she's going to go to jail. Eldridge asked Potter about this.
"You didn't behave like someone who had just saved certain Johnson's life, did you?" she asked. "You never asked Sergeant Johnson if he was OK, right?"
Dec 17, 2021, 1:43 PM EST
Kim Potter testifies on Daunte Wright's past
Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by Kim Potter during a traffic stop, had a gross misdemeanor warrant and an order of protection against him.
Potter maintained that it is not uncommon to find someone who has a warrant during a traffic stop and that a gross misdemeanor is a lesser offense than a felony. Potter also recalled the temporary order of protection against Wright.
In this image taken from video, former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter testifies during her trial, Dec. 17, 2021, in Minneapolis. Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting of Daunte Wright.
Pool via ABC
When prosecutor Erin Eldridge asked if "just having a female passenger in your car is not in and by itself a violation of an OFP [order of protection]," Potter said it has to be investigated.
Eldridge then asked, "You did not see a need to rush up to the passenger side of the vehicle and pull this woman to safety, right?"
"Not at the moment," Potter replied.
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."
