Defense rests in former officer Kim Potter’s trial

Defense attorneys and prosecutors will give final arguments on Monday after eight days of testimony. Former suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright on April 11. Prosecutors argued she was criminally negligent and reckless to shoot a gun instead of a taser. The defense admitted Potter mistakenly grabbed the wrong weapon, but use of force was still justified. The jury will be fully sequestered during deliberation.

What happened? Potter and an officer she was training pulled over Wright for expired license plate tags and driving with an object hanging from his rearview mirror, which is illegal in Minnesota. They discovered he had outstanding warrants and attempted to arrest him. Wright tried to escape while officers tried to detain him. Potter yelled, “Taser, taser, taser!” but then shot Wright with a handgun. His car took off and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The police chief at the time testified that Potter did not violate any policy. Potter broke down on the stand when recounting the events. It was the first time in her 26-year career that she had used a gun.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger’s report in WORLD Magazine about racial tensions in Minneapolis following Wright’s death.