Sylvie Claire / December 9, 2021
Kim Potter, 49 years old, is tried for manslaughter. On April 11, 2021, this experienced officer had killed Daunte Wright, 20 years old, in Brooklyn Center, in the suburbs of this big city of the north of the United States. The drama had known a strong repercussion because it had occurred during the trial of the white police officer Derek Chauvin who, in May 2020 in Minneapolis, asphyxiated George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man. The ordeal of the forty-year-old had initiated huge anti-racist demonstrations around the world.
Nearly a year later, the death of Daunte Wright had rekindled tensions in Minneapolis and demonstrations and violence had taken place several nights in a row. The arrest of Kim Potter brought calm but the city remained on edge until Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Nearly a year later, the death of Daunte Wright had rekindled tensions in Minneapolis and demonstrations and violence had taken place several nights in a row. The arrest of Kim Potter brought calm but the city remained on edge until Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The trial of the policewoman is taking place in the shadow of this historic precedent: it is taking place in the same court, with the same prosecutors and some common lawyers. After ten days of jury selection, with only one black person on the jury, the proceedings began with the presentation of the prosecution and defense case.
The facts are not in dispute: Kim Potter and two colleagues had stopped Daunte Wright's car for a routine traffic stop. After realizing that he had a warrant for his arrest on a weapons charge, they decided to stop him. The young man, who was unarmed, attempted to flee. To deter him, Kim Potter drew what she thought was her stun gun. On a recording of the scene, we hear her shouting Taser several times, before shooting.
She is not being prosecuted for voluntary manslaughter, said prosecutor Erin Eldridge, but neither is it an unfortunate mistake: This case is about the reckless handling of a weapon, about the neglect of risk by a police officer with 26 years of experience, she said. Kim Potter did what she had to do to protect a colleague who was in danger of being carried away by Daunte Wright's car, her lawyer Paul Engh retorted. Under the effect of stress, she made a mistake, it was an accident. She is a human being, he added, comparing her to a surgeon who, after 100 operations, can still make a mistake.
The police officer is expected to be called to the witness stand in a few days. The verdict is expected by the end of the year.