A Minnesota prosecutor said Wednesday he will file a charge of second-degree manslaughter against a former Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop Sunday.
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The incident occurred in Hennepin County, but under a policy adopted last year in Minnesota, the case was referred to a different county to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.
The announcement came a day after Officer Kim Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where she had served for 26 years. Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned Tuesday.
Gannon released Potter’s body camera video Monday at a news conference. It showed Potter, who is white, approaching Wright, a 20-year-old African American, while he stood outside his car as another officer was arresting him for an outstanding warrant. Police said he was pulled over for having expired registration tags.
Gannon told reporters he believes Potter shot Wright when she meant to use her Taser. A Taser is a non-lethal electroshock weapon used to incapacitate an individual, thus allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and safe manner.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest and classified the manner of death as a homicide.
The charge was announced after a third night of clashes between demonstrators and police.
Authorities in the Minneapolis area had set a 10 p.m. curfew to try to keep people off the streets, but hundreds gathered outside police headquarters in the suburb of Brooklyn Center calling for justice.
Police ordered the crowd to disperse, and ensuing confrontations involved protesters launching objects at police and officers using flashbang and gas grenades.
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