The former Minnesota officer who shot Daunte Wright after authorities said she mistakenly deployed her handgun instead of her Taser will be charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in his death.
Ms. Potter, who resigned Tuesday after 26 years with the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was arrested Wednesday morning by agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul.
“After consultation with the Washington County Attorney’s Office, Potter will be booked into the Hennepin County Jail on probable cause 2nd Degree Manslaughter. The Washington County Attorney’s Office will file charges later today,” the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement.
The charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, was filed in Hennepin County under an agreement last year in which deadly police incidents in the Minneapolis metro area are referred to neighboring counties for prosecution.
Ms. Potter, 48, was shown in body camera footage Sunday yelling “Taser, Taser” at the 20-year-old Wright as he struggled with police after jumping back into his vehicle after police sought to take him into custody for an outstanding warrant following a traffic stop.
After firing once, she can be heard saying, “Holy s—-, I just shot him.”
Mr. Wright was pulled over for an expired registration tag on the white Buick he was driving, but there was a warrant filed against him for aggravated first-degree robbery.
He was charged with the felony in December 2019 after allegedly pointing a handgun at a female victim and demanding $820, then choking her as he sought to grab the cash from her bra, according to the charging document posted online.
Former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned as protests surged and rioters vandalized and looted more than 20 businesses in the Minneapolis suburb of about 30,000 people.
Ms. Potter is represented by Earl Gray, the attorney representing former Minneapolis Officer Thomas Lane, one of the four charged in the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody.
In a Tuesday letter to city officials, Ms. Potter said, “I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability. But I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.”
Civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Wright family, said the shooting was “no accident,” alleging that the former officer “executed Daunte for what amounts to no more than a minor traffic infraction.”
“While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back,” Mr. Crump said in a statement. “This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate and unlawful use of force. Driving while Black continues to result in a death sentence.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.