Kim Potter, the police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright, was taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Wednesday morning and will be charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center (Minn.) Police Department, tried to pull over Wright on Sunday afternoon, but Wright fled.
The death of a black man by a White officer comes at the same time as the murder trial of another white former police officer, Derek Chauvin, charged in last year’s killing of George Floyd.
“While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back. This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force. Driving while black continues to result in a death sentence,” Ben Crump, attorney for the Wright family, said in a statement.
“It’s past time for meaningful change in our country. We will keep fighting for justice for Daunte, for his family, and for all marginalized people of color. And we will not stop until there is meaningful policing and justice reform and until we reach our goal of true equality.”
Potter, who resigned on Tuesday, apparently believed she had pulled out a Taser, instead of a pistol, when she pointed it at Wright and fired.
Potter repeatedly yelled “Taser!” before shooting Wright as he sat in his vehicle’s driver seat after ducking away from the other cop.
Potter’s Taser is bright yellow; her Glock 9mm pistol is black.
Wright had been pulled over by police in Brooklyn Center for having expired license plates.
Wright’s death spawned riots in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis.
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