Minnesota AG to prosecute police officer over shooting death of black man
21 May 2021, 18:34
The city’s police chief, who has since stepped down, had said he believed Kim Potter meant to use her Taser instead of her handgun.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has announced that he will lead the prosecution of a former police officer who is charged with second-degree manslaughter over the death of Daunte Wright.
Former Brooklyn Centre officer Kim Potter fatally shot Mr Wright, a 20-year-old black motorist, on April 11.
The city’s police chief, who has since stepped down, said he believed Potter meant to use her Taser instead of her handgun.
Mr Ellison said he took the case at the request of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, after another prosecutor — Washington County Attorney Pete Orput — gave the case back to Mr Freeman’s office.
Mr Orput first took the case under an agreement in which metro prosecutors share one another’s criminal cases involving police officers.
But after Mr Orput charged Potter with manslaughter, he came under intense pressure from activists calling for more serious charges, with frequent demonstrations outside his home.
Mr Orput had said publicly that he believed manslaughter was the appropriate charge.
