Daunte Wright: Former officer charged with the death of 20-year-old to appear in court for the first time as tension diminishes over protests

However, after three nights of sometimes violent exchanges between protesters and law enforcement officials, tension seemed to have eased Wednesday evening.

“We are grateful tonight, the tension and anxiety and the stress seemed to have subsided,” said Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, at a late night press conference.

There were “about 24 arrests,” he said, which was significantly lower than the previous nights.

Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson said the majority of the people arrested at Brooklyn Center were not residents of the city.

And for the second night in a row, there were no reports of looting or fires at Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said.

Officer is waiting for up to 10 years in prison

In Minnesota, second-degree homicide applies when authorities allege that a person causes a person’s death by “culpable negligence that places the person at an unreasonable risk and knowingly takes risks to cause death or major bodily harm to another.”

A person convicted of this charge may face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and / or a fine of up to $ 20,000.

Police Chief Tim Gannon, who resigned Tuesday, had said Wright’s death appeared to be the result of Potter mistaking her gun for her Taser, while Wright resisted arrest.

However, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension examined Potter’s task belt and found that her gun was holstered on the right side of her belt, while the Taser is on the left, according to a press release from Washington County Attorney Pete Orput’s office.

Citing a criminal complaint, the release said the Taser is yellow with a black grip and is in a straight position, “meaning Potter would have to use her left hand to pull the Taser out of its holster.”

Potter is still entitled to benefits after her resignation, although it is not clear what those benefits are, said Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards.

In response to the manslaughter charge, one of the Wright family’s attorneys, Benjamin Crump, released a statement saying: return loved one. “

“This (shooting) was not an accident. This was an intentional, willful, and unlawful use of force,” Crump said.

What the body cameras showed

On Monday, the day after Wright’s death, camera footage of the incident was released. Wright was detained by police on Sunday, who discovered he had a warrant for a gross crime against weapons, according to the news release from Orput’s office.

The footage shows Wright standing outside his vehicle with his arms behind his back and an officer directly behind him, trying to handcuff him. An officer tells Wright “don’t,” before Wright turns away and sits back in the driver’s seat of the car.

In Orput’s office, Potter said “pulled her Glock 9mm pistol with her right hand and pointed it at Wright.”

The officer whose camera footage has been released is heard warning the man that she is going to use her Taser on him, before repeatedly shouting, “Taser! Taser! Taser!” It is at this point that Orput’s office says that Potter “pulled the trigger on her gun” and fired one shot at Wright’s left side.

Wright immediately said, “um, he shot me,” and the car sped a long way before crashing into another vehicle and stopping, “the release said.

Then the officer hears shouting, “Holy sh * t! I just shot him.”

An ambulance was called and Wright was pronounced dead on the spot, Orput’s release said.