Outcome reached in Kim Potter trial over Daunte Wright's death
Kim Potter is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.
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.
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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Daunte Wright's mother recalls final phone call with son
Katie Wright, testifying under the name Katie Bryant, told jurors about the final call she had with her son. She recalled him saying that he had an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror and said he was stopped by police for it.
She told him to take it down and he said he already had.
He said that they were asking about insurance information, and she told him to hand the phone to the officer when he came to the window because the car was not protected by any insurance.
"He just sounded really nervous, but I reassured him that it would be okay," she said.
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She heard the police come back to the window, ask Daunte to step out of the vehicle and she heard him ask what he was in trouble for.
She heard a voice tell Daunte to put the phone down and hang up the phone, and heard Duante and the officers begin to scuffle. She said she was then disconnected.
"I was panicked. I called back, it seemed like 100 times but I believe was probably maybe four or five times and I kept calling so finally FaceTimed," Bryant said. "I don't know how much time lapsed, maybe a minute or two, and a female, [his girlfriend], answered the phone."
"She was screaming. I was like, 'what's wrong?' And she said that they shot him and she faced the phone toward the driver's seat. My son was laying there. He was unresponsive and I heard somebody say 'hang up the phone again,'" she tearfully recalled.
Daunte Wright's mother is 1st prosecution witness on stand
Katie Wright, testifying under the name of Katie Bryant, is the first witness to take the stand in the trial of Kim Potter who fatally shot her son, Daunte Wright.
Daunte was Katie and Aubrey Wright's first child together.
She recalled intimate details of Daunte's life: "He was funny, he was a jokester. He liked to make everybody laugh. He had a smile that lit up a room. He was amazing."
He had just enrolled in a trade school and planned on pursuing carpentry, she said, and that Daunte's son, Daunte Jr., is now two years old.
The jury is being shown photos of Daunte, his son and his family. Daunte was shown taking care of his son, who Katie said was born prematurely and was in the hospital for several months.
"He was very proud to be a father," Katie said. "He was also worried that just because he was premature about him sleeping and he could sleep a lot as a premature baby and he was really worried about that. He would play with him, he would do everything that a father needs to do for his child."
"He was an amazing dad," she added.
If Daunte Wright had stopped 'he would be with us,' defense says
"All he has to do is stop and he would be with us," defense attorney Paul Engh told jurors. "She can't let him leave because he's going to kill her partner."
When Daunte Wright was being arrested, he freed himself from the officers' grip and tried to get back in his vehicle.
The defense argued that she meant to pull out and shoot her stun gun but instead, she accidentally pulled out her firearm.
Engh argued that Kim Potter was pulling out her stun gun with the intention of stopping Wright from driving away. He said that her partner, Sgt. Michael Johnson, was partially in the car. Engh said that Potter knew that if Wright drove away, Johnson would've been dragged alongside the vehicle.
Fleeing an officer is a "dangerous felony," Engh said. "It's a crime of violence."
'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."