On Monday, a Minnesota magistrate ruled that the case against Kim Potter, the former officer charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, can move forward.
Judge Regina Chu found probable cause for the charges against Potter and set the trial date for Dec. 6 in Hennepin County, reported News Channel 6.
Appearing with her attorney on video conference, the accused murderer sat still and only spoke when she affirmed her amenability to the hearing being recorded. She did not enter a plea.
Daunte Wright was killed on April 11 after a struggle with police during a traffic stop. At the time, Potter claimed that she thought she had pulled her taser when she pulled the trigger. The former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon initially stood by the claim due to bodycam footage where the former offer could be heard shouting, “Taser!”
However, experts explained in court documents that Potter’s story held little weight, as tasers and guns are kept on opposite sides of an officer’s belt, and she would have had to use her left hand to grab the taser. Tasers also have a yellow stripe for easy differentiation. Both Potter and the chief resigned shortly after the shooting.
The incident happened within a few miles of where ex-officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd and, in the wake of Chauvin’s trial, further igniting outrage and even caused his attorney to argue that the incident could have hurt his client’s chance to have a fair trial.
Chauvin was later found guilty on all charges.
Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
However, Wright’s family wants the ex-officer to serve life.
“If we can have life, we want life. We gotta go life without him,” said Naisha, Wright’s aunt.
Wright was a 20-year-old father of one. Kim Potter was a 26-year veteran officer who was trusted with training rookies at the time of the shooting.
