Washington County Prosecutor Pete Orput charged Kim Potter with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Wednesday, reported NBC News.
The news of the manslaughter charges comes one day after Potter and Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned, reported WCCO-CBS Minnesota. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Wright’s death a homicide.
In a letter to the city tendering her resignation, Potter wrote, “I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving the community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.”
Officer who shot #DaunteWright has resigned. Here’s Kim Potter’s letter to city staff: pic.twitter.com/aaETqsyWUE
— Christiane Cordero (@ChristianeWCCO) April 13, 2021
Potter’s resignation was announced by the labor union, Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS), who issued their own statement.
“Due to the ongoing investigation being conducted, Law Enforcement Labor Services is unable to provide any additional information or statements,” the LELS statement said.
There was no statement issued by LELS on Gannon’s behalf.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Elliot told reporters Tuesday afternoon that while he was “appreciative” of Potter’s resignation, he did not ask for it. He said he wasn’t sure if she resigned because she heard she would be terminated soon.
Elliot said that he hoped Potter’s resignation would “bring some calm to the community” as he continued to work for “full accountability under the law.”
“That’s what we’re going to continue to work for. We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family deserves that,” Elliot said.
Potter, a 26 year veteran on the force at the time of Daunte Wright’s shooting, was heard yelling, “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” on bodycam footage before fatally shooting Wright during a traffic stop.
Protests have mounted as a result of the shooting in the Minneapolis suburb, which was already engulfed in tension prior to Wright’s death as the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged in the murder of George Floyd entered its third week.
