Minnesota police officer who shot black motorist resigns
13 April 2021, 18:54
The city’s police chief has said he believes Kim Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser.
A white Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop in Minnesota has resigned.
Kim Potter resigned two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Centre, near Minneapolis. The 26-year veteran had been on administrative leave following Sunday’s shooting.
The city’s police chief has said he believes Ms Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser.
She can be heard on her body camera video shouting “Taser. Taser”.
“Whenever, through the line of duty, someone kills another human being, there must be accountability,” Brooklyn Centre Mayor Mike Elliott told the Today show earlier on Tuesday.
Activists and some residents say Mr Wright was racially profiled, and his death has sparked two days of clashes between police and protesters.
The shooting happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyd’s death.
Mr Wright was shot as police were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.
“I’ll Tase you. I’ll Tase you. Taser. Taser. Taser,” the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released on Monday.
She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.
After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, “Holy (expletive). I shot him.”
Brooklyn Centre City police chief Tim Gannon also resigned following the incident.
