![]() The defense has argued that Johnson was at risk of being dragged and that Potter would have been justified in using deadly force.Įldridge countered, saying: “Sgt. Mychal Johnson, who was leaning into the car’s passenger-side door and trying to handcuff Wright. Potter also testified that she acted after seeing “fear” on the face of another officer, then-Sgt. … But that has no place in your deliberations,” she said. “Of course she feels bad about what she did. ![]() Potter testified Friday that she “didn’t want to hurt anybody” and that she was “sorry it happened."Įldridge said the case wasn’t about whether Potter was sorry. It just isn’t in our freedom-loving country." ![]() He also argued that shooting Wright wasn't a crime. “Daunte Wright caused his own death, unfortunately,” he said. Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of her Taser because the traffic stop “was chaos,” he said. Potter's attorney Earl Gray argued that Wright was to blame for trying to flee from police. She pointed it at Daunte Wright’s chest, and she fired.” “She drew a deadly weapon,” Eldridge said. Totally avoidable.” She urged the jury not to excuse it as a mistake: "Accidents can still be crimes if they occur as a result of reckless or culpable negligence." ![]() Prosecutor Erin Eldridge called Wright’s death “entirely preventable. Potter resigned two days after Wright's death. The mostly white jury got the case after about a week and a half of testimony about an arrest that went awry, setting off angry protests in Brooklyn Center just as nearby Minneapolis was on edge over Derek Chauvin's trial in George Floyd's death. Potter's attorneys countered that Wright, who was attempting to get away from officers as they sought to handcuff him for an outstanding warrant on a weapons charge, “caused the whole incident.” Her order allows them to communicate with family members as long as they avoid discussing the trial.ĭuring closing arguments, prosecutors accused Potter of a “blunder of epic proportions” in Wright's death in an April 11 traffic stop - but said a mistake was no defense. The judge has ordered that the jury be sequestered during deliberations - meaning they remain under the court’s supervision in an undisclosed hotel and cannot return to their homes until they have reached a verdict or the judge has determined they can't reach one. They argued that rereading the jury instruction inappropriately emphasized that paragraph over the rest of the instructions. Potter's attorneys objected both to the judge rereading the jury instruction and to allowing jurors to hold the gun. She then reread jurors their instructions, which included an instruction to continue to “discuss the case with one another and deliberate with a view toward reaching agreement if you can do so without violating your individual judgment.” Jurors can also examine the Taser during their deliberations.Ĭhu read the jury's question about deliberating: “If the jury cannot reach consensus, what is the guidance around how long and what steps should be taken?” Potter attorney Paul Engh objected, saying that the gun should remain in the box “for safety purposes.” The judge overruled him. The jurors asked if they could remove zip ties keeping former Potter's gun in an evidence box so they could hold it, and the judge said they could. Prosecutors presented evidence on the differences between the gun and the Taser, including weight, feel, size, color, and that the gun was holstered on her right side and the Taser on her left. Potter said she meant to use her Taser on Wright rather than her gun. If convicted of the most serious charge, Potter, 49, would face a sentence of about seven years under state guidelines, though prosecutors have said they will seek more. Minnesota Veterans & Emergency Services Museumįormer Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter, who is white, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter.
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