Kimberly Potter

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Kimberly Potter Full Name: Kimberly Ann Potter Alias: Kim Potter Origin: Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, U.S. Occupation: Police officer (formerly) Goals: Apprehend Daunte Wright Get acquitted of manslaughter (failed) Crimes: Manslaughter Police brutality Type of Villain: Remorseful Murderer

Kimberly Ann Potter is a former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed 20-year-old unarmed African-American Daunte Wright as he tried to flee. Potter claims she had attempted to Taser him and pulled her gun by mistake. She was convicted of manslaughter on 23 December 2021.

Biography

At the time of Wright's death, Potter, then 48, was working as a police training officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. She was training a new officer when the shooting occurred.

Death of Daunte Wright

On 11 April 2021, Wright, who had outstanding arrest warrants against him for armed robbery, illegal weapon possession, evading arrest and failure to appear in court, made an illegal right turn in front of a police car containing Kimberly Potter, the officer she was training and Potter's supervisor. The trainee officer also noticed that he had an expired number plate and an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror, a violation of Minnesota state law. They pulled Wright over and found he had no driver's licence, and discovered the outstanding warrants after running Wright's name through the database.

The trainee officer instructed Wright to exit the car and attempted to handcuff him. Wright broke free and jumped back in the car. Potter, whose Taser was on the left side of her body and gun was on the right, yelled "Taser! Taser! Taser!" before pulling out her gun and shooting him in the back at close range. She then said "Oh shit, I just shot him!". Wright drove off before crashing his car several feet away. He was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot.

Aftermath

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office declared Wright's death to be a homicide. Potter was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into Wright's death. Her firing was recommended on 12 April by the Brooklyn City Council, and she resigned on 13 April. On 14 April Potter was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, defined as "unlawfully causing death through culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk". She was released awaiting trial the same day after posting bail.

On 2 September, Potter was additionally charged with first-degree manslaughter through reckless use of a firearm, a more serious charge. Her trial began on 30 November. She was prosecuted by Matthew Frank, who also prosecuted fellow police officer Derek Chauvin, and defended by Earl Gray, who is additionally representing police officer Thomas Lane in his civil rights trial.

Potter's defence was that she had mistaken her gun for her Taser. The defence argued that Wright's attempts to resist arrest had caused stress which contributed to Potter making a "slip-and-capture" error and drawing her gun by mistake. The prosecution drew the jury's attention to the fact that Potter's gun was black, metal and weighed 0.96 kg whereas her Taser was yellow, plastic and only weighed 0.43 kg. Potter testified on her own behalf, admitting that she knew Wright was unarmed and that he had not used violence.

The trial concluded on 20 December 2021. After four days of deliberation, the jury convicted Potter of both first and second-degree manslaughter on 23 December. She was transferred to Shakopee Women's Correctional Facility to await sentencing, scheduled for 18 February 2022. She was ultimately sentenced to two years imprisonment.