Ex-officer charged in fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota

The former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed a 20-year-old black man during a traffic stop was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput charged Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, in the fatal shooting Sunday of Daunte Wright.

"Certain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer," Imran Ali, Washington County assistant criminal division chief, said in a statement. "We ... intend to prove that Officer Potter abrogated her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm rather than her taser. Her action caused the unlawful killing of Mr. Wright and she must be held accountable."

Agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrested Potter, who is white, on Wednesday morning, Jill Oliveira, a spokeswoman for the bureau, said in a statement.

Potter, 48, was taken into custody before noon at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, Oliveira said. Online records for Hennepin County Jail showed she was being held without bail.

Under Minnesota law, second-degree manslaughter applies if anyone causes the death by "culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another". The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

Potter is being represented by Earl Gray, an attorney who also represents Thomas Lane.

Lane is a former Minneapolis police officer charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, a black man, who died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck. In Minneapolis, about 10 miles from Brooklyn Center, the defense for Chauvin called its first witnesses.

Wright's family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the manslaughter charge against Potter isn't enough.

"While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back," Crump, who is representing the Wright family, said in a statement Wednesday. "This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force."

The Rev Al Sharpton, appearing alongside Crump on Wednesday, said the second-degree manslaughter charge was "the least she should get".

"The least ... when you look at the fact that you're dealing with a 26-year veteran," Sharpton said. "If she didn't know in 26 years the difference in size and weight of a gun as opposed to a Taser, then how was she a veteran in policing? How was she even on the force that long?"

Wright's older brother told NBC News that the family was hoping for a more serious charge against Potter.

"I'm not too happy about it but I'll take every win I can get at the moment," said Dallas Bryant, 23. The victim's brother added that he expected protests in Brooklyn Center to continue despite the criminal charge. "My family wants peace. Me and our family are going to try and do it the right way."

The charge against Potter came a day after she resigned from the police department. She said in a letter to city officials that it was in the best interest of the community and the police department for her to resign.

Potter began working as a police officer in Brooklyn Center in 1995. She was working as a field training officer and had been training a new police officer.

Officers were attempting to arrest Wright after learning that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant. When Wright tried to twist away from another officer who was trying to handcuff him, Potter yelled, "I'll tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!" She then fired her handgun. Wright died on the scene.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned Tuesday after he told reporters that he believed Potter mistook her firearm for her Taser.

The shooting ignited three days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police in Brooklyn Center.

Demonstrations on Tuesday began peacefully, but by the evening, chaos erupted around the city police headquarters where police officers and National Guard troops were lined up. An estimated 800 to 1,000 people gathered outside the building. Some protesters hurled water bottles, bricks and other projectiles at officers in riot gear.

Police used pepper spray and fired flash bombs into the crowd after declaring the protest unlawful. Authorities said 79 people were arrested for "riot and other criminal behaviors".