Former Minnesota police officer to go on trial on Dec. 6 for shooting Daunte Wright
Reuters
Published May 17, 2021 01:31PM ET
Updated May 17, 2021 02:57PM ET
By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) - The white Minnesota police officer charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop near Minneapolis last month will go on trial beginning on Dec. 6, a state judge ruled on Monday.
Kimberly Potter, 48, was captured on her colleagues' body-worn camera attempting to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant in the suburban city of Brooklyn Center on April 11 after pulling him over because he had an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror.
The video shows Potter, a 26-year veteran of the force, shouting "Taser!" while pointing her handgun at Wright, who was attempting to get back behind the steering wheel. She then shoots Wright in the chest, in what many view as yet another graphic example of police brutality against Black Americans, which over the last year has fueled the largest protest movement in the United States in decades.
Before he resigned soon after, the city's police chief, Tim Gannon, said Potter mistakenly used her gun instead of her Taser.
Potter, who also resigned, did not enter a plea during her initial court appearance last month, and her lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
The Dec. 6 trial date was set during a brief videoconference hearing on Monday, known as an omnibus hearing under Minnesota law, before Hennepin County District Judge Regina Chu.
Potter, dressed in black, appeared alongside her lawyer Earl Gray in his office. She spoke only to say she understood and did not object to the proceeding being held virtually.
The killing of Wright happened only a few miles away from the then-ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in a deadly arrest in May 2020.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.