The Trial of Kimberly Potter Begins on the Heels of High Profile Convictions for Lost Black Lives

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota officer Kimberly Potter fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright at the top of the year. Her manslaughter trial is following a pair of high profile convictions.

(at podium) Kimberly Wright, mother of Daunte Wright who was killed by Kimberly Potter; Image via Nina Moini on Twitter

There is never a good time for a Black person to be killed by a member of law enforcement or anyone who acts/deputizes themselves as such. But for former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota officer Kimberly Potter, the negligent killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright seemingly could not have occurred at a worse time.

Potter killed Daunte Wright during a routine traffic stop, mere miles away from the murder trial of Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd. As the nation watched the trial with nervous anticipation of whether or not Chauvin would be yet another officer that got away with killing a Black American on film, we saw footage of Kimberly Potter allegedly mistaking her handgun for a taser, and firing it into the chest of Daunte Wright. What began as a traffic stop for an air freshener hanging from Daunte’s mirror turned into Potter learning of a prior warrant for Daunte’s arrest and an attempt to detain him. When Daunte attempted to flee from being handcuffed and return to his car, Potter yelled threats to tase him. But instead of pulling out the bright yellow taser that weighed much less than the handgun that rested on its opposite side, Potter yelled “taser, taser!” as she fired the shot that would end Daunte’s life.

At the time of the incident, Potter was training a new officer. In defense of her actions, she has proclaimed that she believed she was deploying her taser, despite being a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police department and assumingly well aware of the difference between a loaded firearm and a taser.

Immediately after she shot Daunte, Potter exclaimed “I grabbed the wrong fucking gun; I’m going to prison!” It will be up to the jury to decide if this was all a matter of theatrics.