Photo: KEREM YUCEL / AFP / Getty Images
For: EFE
Friday, September 20
US jury convicts Kim Potter, police officer who killed African-American Daunte Wright
A jury declared this Thursday guilty of all charges to the white police of Brooklyn Center (USA). ) who in April killed the young African-American Daunte Wright by allegedly mistaking his pistol for his electro-shock or taser weapon, an event that sparked numerous protests.
After three and a half days of deliberations, the jury found police Kim Potter guilty of the two charges he faced: involuntary manslaughter in the first and second degree.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of 30, 000 dollars, while the second carries 10 years in prison and a fine of 20, 000 Dollars.
In a quiet room, Judge Regina Chu read the jury’s decision as Potter listened standing as two people rested their hands on their shoulders of the accused, as a sign of support.
Potter did not gesture and remained calm, only swallowing with some difficulty on occasion and looking on the sides, according to the images of the local televisions, which broadcast the view live.
Wright passed away last 11 April in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of the city of Minneapolis (Minnesota), because Potter, according to the official version, mistook his electro-shock weapon for a firearm during a traffic control.
The video of the event, which was made public by the local authorities and which was reproduced during the trial, shows how three officers approach Wright’s vehicle and one of them tries to handcuff him , but the young man resists.
Then, as seen in the recording, a struggle begins and the agent draws her pistol and screams as a warning: “Taser! Taser! Taser! ”. Then a shot is heard and the agent exclaims with surprise: “I have shot him.”
The police say They stopped the vehicle, because he did not have some papers in order, they asked Wright for identification and realized that he had a pending arrest warrant, so they tried to stop him.
It was at that moment that the man tried to get back into the car and was hit by a bullet.
Daunte Wright’s brother and others gathered outside the courtroom react to the news that former Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter has been found guilty. pic.twitter.com/qUYEm9oVEM— The Recount (@therecount) December 23, 2021
During the trial, which was held in Minneapolis, the former agent had to answer multiple questions that the prosecutor asked her about the electro-shock weapon and the differences it has with respect to the regulation pistol both in its size as in its shape and its weight.
As the images exhibited during the trial showed, the taser is larger and more bulky than the pistol.
Wright’s death happened near a city -Mineapolis
In May 2020, Chauvin killed Floyd by suffocation after pressing his knee against the victim’s neck for more than nine minutes. The ex-police officer was sentenced for this crime to 20 and a half years in jail
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· The Minneapolis police who killed Daunte Wright break into tears at his trial when they see how he murdered him Minnesota Attorney General will take the case against former officer Kim Potter for the death of Daunte Wright
· Say goodbye to Daunte Wright in Minneapolis; George Floyd’s family attends the funeral