The trial of the ex-cop who shot Daunte Wright begins in earnest today as opening statements will be heard in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis this morning.
Kim Potter claims she shot Wright 'by accident' when she reached for her gun instead of her taser during a botched traffic stop and her defense in the high-profile trial is expected to lean heavily on the fact that Wright was attempting to flee when she did so.
Potter, a police officer for 26 years before her resignation, has been charged on two counts; first-degree manslaughter predicated on reckless use/handling of a firearm and second-degree manslaughter.
Opening statements are set to begin Wednesday in the trial of Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter, 50, (pictured during jury selection last week) who is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in Daunte Wright's April 11 death
Potter, a 26-year veteran in the force, claims she accidentally shot Daunte Wright (right) when she reached for her gun instead of her taser during a botched traffic stop over his expired plates in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota in April
The maximum sentence for the first count is 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. The lesser count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
The 49-year-old ex-cop shot Wright dead on April 11, 2021, when a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center went catastrophically wrong.
She and Officer Anthony Luckey, for whom she was Field Training Officer, pulled Wright over for having an air-freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror (illegal in Minnesota) and expired plates on his Buick.
A records check showed the 20-year-old had an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons violation and the stop swiftly turned into an arrest.
Potter is expected to testify during the trial
Wright resisted, getting back into the car out of which he had been asked to step as officers tried to cuff him.
In the confusion that followed Potter drew her gun and threatened to tase Wright twice.
She then shouted, 'Taser! Taser! Taser!' and shot him in the chest. She maintains she grabbed her gun in error.
The prosecution has made it known that they intend to press for an upward departure in sentencing should she be found guilty.
Attorney General Keith Ellison has given two grounds for this request.
According to the AG, Potter's actions endangered the safety of others as she fired into a car in which there was a passenger present, near two other officers and while the car had its motor running on a busy street.
Wright drove off after he had been shot and hit another car before he came to a stop.
To bolster their claim that it was an accident, defense attorneys have highlighted Potter's immediate reaction and later body-camera footage that hasn't been seen by the public in which the cop is said to have repeatedly expressed remorse. (Potter is seen in an April 15 courtroom sketch)
Potter has said she meant to use her Taser on Wright after he tried to drive away from officers while they were trying to arrest him, but that she grabbed her handgun instead. Her body camera recorded the shooting
Ellison has also stated that she abused her position of authority as a licensed police officer.
The defense has already had a series of disappointments ahead of Wednesday's openings as Judge Regina Chu heard pre-trial motions Monday.
She denied the defense request to introduce of a photo of Wright holding a handgun in front of a mirror to push back at spark of life testimony expected to come from his mother and father.
