BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – The former police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the murder that sparked three nights of protests in this Minneapolis suburb.
Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, will remain in prison until her first appearance Thursday, Washington County Attorney Peter Orput said. The indictment carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison under Minnesota law. Mrs. Potter stepped down on Tuesday.
Police have been shooting Mr. Wright as an accident, where Ms. Potter had mistaken her gun for a taser; Body cameras showed Mrs. Potter, 48, shouting the word Taser several times before firing her gun.
“Officer Potter has rescinded her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm in place of her Taser,” Imran Ali, the assistant criminal division chief in the Washington County Attorney’s office, said in a statement. “Her action triggered the unlawful murder of Mr. Wright and she must be held accountable.”
Ms. Potter’s attorney, Earl Gray, did not respond to requests for comment. His fees are paid by the legal protection fund of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, a group representing municipal police officers statewide, the group said.