The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright, a Black man who was pulled over for driving an SUV with expired license plates, has been arrested and will be charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday, a prosecutor said, according to multiple outlets. In the nights following the Sunday killing of Wright, cities in Minnesota have been rocked by massive protests, violence, and clashes between demonstrators and police.
Furthermore, on Wednesday morning, Officer Kim Potter—a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department—was arrested at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, according to the Associated Press.
The charge against former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter will be filed Wednesday, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said, per the AP. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $20,000.
The charge and arrest of Potter come the day after she resigned from the department, along with Police Chief Tim Gannon.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” Potter said in a statement. She claims that shooting Wright with her handgun was an accident, saying that she meant to grab her taser.
After releasing bodycam footage of the shooting on Monday, the chief said it was his belief that Potter mistakenly shot Wright after pulling out her gun instead of a Taser.
The footage showed her nearing Wright as he stood outside of his vehicle while another officer was arresting him. As Wright struggles with police, Potter yells, “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” before firing a single shot from her handgun.
Demonstrators and Wright’s family, enraged by this, have argued that an experienced officer should easily know the difference between a Taser and a handgun, saying there’s no such excuse for the shooting.
