MINNEAPOLIS — The defense has rested in the trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright.
Kim Potter, 49, is charged with manslaughter in Wright’s death during a traffic stop April 11 in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Potter has said she meant to use her Taser to subdue Wright when he pulled away from officers and got back into his car as they tried to arrest him on a warrant for a weapons violation. She shot him once with her handgun instead.
The defense wrapped up their case soon after Potter took the stand Friday to testify to her actions. Potter, who resigned two days after the shooting, broke down in tears at one point as she said the traffic stop “just went chaotic” after Wright tried to get back into his car and leave.
Potter was training a new officer when that officer decided to pull Wright over for expired license plate tags and an air freshener hanging from his mirror. Potter said that if she had been alone, she probably wouldn’t have made the stop.
Potter acknowledged on cross-examination that she had been extensively trained on the use of force and use of Tasers.
