Nathan Layne

(Reuters] – Jury selection for the Minnesota Manslaughter Trial of a White Former Minnesota Police Officer charged in Daunte Wright’s fatal shooting will start Tuesday. The victim was a Black man whose death triggered protests, a state that is already on edge about George Floyd’s killing.

Kimberly Potter, a Brooklyn Center officer, was charged with first-degree and second-degree murder. Potter’s lawyers claim that Potter (49) mistakenly used her stun guns instead of her handgun during Wright’s 20-year old death.

Also, her attorneys have charged the prosecution with disregarding Wright’s conduct. They claim that Wright refused to be arrested and then tried to drive off. After the incident, Potter, who is a 26 year veteran of police, quit.

Wright’s shooting took place just a few miles away from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Derek Chauvin was convicted in April for murdering Floyd (a 46-year old Black man) during an arrest made in May 2020.

Last year, protests against racism and police brutality erupted in many U.S. towns following Floyd’s passing. Many saw Wright’s shooting as another instance of police violence against Black Americans. There were several demonstrations held in Brooklyn Center over the next few nights.

Wright had an expired license plate and an air freshener on his vehicle’s rearview mirror. Police pulled him over. Wright was not only being detained by Potter but also two additional officers who discovered that Wright had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on misdemeanor weapons violations.

On police body cam video, Potter shouts “I’ll kill you” while waving her gun at Wright. After struggling to free himself from another officer’s grip, he tried to climb back into the wheel. Potter shot Wright in his chest.

Potter claimed that she had grabbed the wrong weapon seconds after the firing. According to an amended criminal complaint filed to court in September, Potter added, “I’m going into prison.”

The jury selection process is estimated to take approximately one week. Deliberations are scheduled to begin on Dec. 8. Regina Chu, Hennepin County District Court judge, has placed the jury in complete seclusion until deliberations commence.

Minnesota’s maximum sentences for manslaughter in the first and second degrees are respectively 15 and 10.