Trial of Former Police Officer Kim Potter Begins in US Court for Shooting of Daunte Wright
The trial of former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter began in the Hennepin County Court on Tuesday, where she faces charges including first and second degree manslaughter for shooting and killing Daunte Wright in April, 2021
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) The trial of former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter began in the Hennepin County Court on Tuesday, where she faces charges including first and second degree manslaughter for shooting and killing Daunte Wright in April, 2021.
Potter shot and killed Wright, a black man, during a traffic stop after purportedly mistaking her handgun for her taser. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial is currently in the jury selection phase, with opening statements expected to begin by December 8 and a verdict reached by December 24, according to presiding judge Regina Chu.
If the trial needs to continue beyond that date, a break will be taken for the holiday season before resuming, Chu added.
The shooting sparked further tensions between law enforcement and police reform protesters, as it took place in the middle of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, in a courthouse just ten miles away from where the Wright shooting occurred.
Potter could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of first degree manslaughter, and up to ten years if found guilty of second degree manslaughter under Minnesota law.