Nathan Layne

(Reuters) – The third day of the Kimberly Potter trial began. This is the case against the ex-police officer from Minnesota who mistook her Taser with her handgun, killing Daunte Wayne, a Black motorist.

Following a day of deliberations, the jury returned to work at 8:30 a.m. CST (1450 GMT) Wednesday at Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Courthouse. The judge had asked for direction on how the jury should proceed if they could not reach an agreement on Potter’s fate.

In response to the question Judge Regina Chu asked the jurors of six men, six women, to reach a consensus, to openly discuss the case and be flexible in their opinions, but to keep their objective assessment of the law.

After more than 15 hours of deliberation, the jury is now closed.

Potter, age 49, pleaded guilty to the first- and second degree manslaughter counts. These charges carry maximum sentences between 15 and 10 years. Potter stated that she mistakenly thought she was drawing her Taser. Wright was shot in the chest by Potter’s 9mm pistol during a traffic stop.

On Monday morning’s closing argument, the prosecutors stated that Potter had acted with recklessness and “culpable neglect” when he drew the wrong weapon. The defense countered that Wright was responsible for his death, resisting arrest, and trying to flee and that Potter used force in good faith.

Potter is white, and Wright’s shooting sparked protests at Brooklyn Center police station. Critics called it yet another instance of police brutality towards Black Americans.

The incident occurred just a few miles north of where Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, was at the same time standing trial https://www.reuters.com/world/us/jurors-resume-deliberations-derek-chauvin-murder-trial-2021-04-20 in the case of George Floyd, a Black man whose 2020 death during an arrest set off racial justice protests in many U.S. cities. Chauvin was found guilty of murder.

Reporting by Nathan Layne, Wilton Connecticut. Editing by Alistair Bell