As the the family of 20-year-old Daunte Wright continue to grieve his tragic passing, the police officer that shot the fatal gunshot following a traffic stop is being held accountable for her actions.
Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the job, was arrested Wednesday morning (Apr. 14), and charged with second-degree manslaughter. She sent a letter of resignation from the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Tuesday. As of yesterday Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott had not accepted it. She was booked at Hennepin County Jail.
According to former Police Chief Tim Gannon, who also resigned on Tuesday, Potter mistook her gun for her taser as Wright attempted to flee police in the vehicle. Potter was heard yelling “taser, taser” before shooting the lone bullet that would eventually take Wright’s life as seen on body cam video recently released to the public.
Wright’s death occurred Sunday in Brooklyn Center, following a traffic stop over an alleged minor traffic violation. Wright’s mother Katie said in a press conference, that her son had called her as he was being pulled over by officer, and claimed he was stopped over obstruction due to “air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.” Officers claim he was pulled over due to an expired tag.
“I know my son was scared,” Wright’s mother Katie told Robin Roberts on Tuesday as they made their first public appearance at Good Morning America. “He’s afraid of the police. And I’d just seen and heard the fear in his voice. But I don’t know why. It should have never, ever escalated the way it did.”
There have been 213 people shot by police in the United States in the first three months of 2021. 50 have been black or hispanic accounting for 23% of the shootings so far.
When asked to tell the world who Daunte was a person, Katie said, “he loved basketball. He had a 2-year-old son that’s not gonna be able to play basketball with him. He had sisters and brothers that he loved so much. He was an uncle, a grandson. He had a smile that would light up the room. He was amazing. He just had his whole life taken away from him. We had our hearts pulled out of our chest. He was my baby.”
Brooklyn Center, Missouri is a suburb of Minnesota which is currently holding the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin, who is currently on trial over the alleged killing of George Floyd.
Wright’s killing resulted in several protests against police violence, so far this week asking for the former officer to help held accountable for her actions in taking a 20-year-old with a young child’s life.
Potter will now face up to 10-years if she is found guilty of the crime as well as a possible fine of up to $20,000.