黑料社

MINNEAPOLIS 鈥� The white suburban police officer who fatally shot a young Black motorist during a traffic stop in Minnesota, igniting three nights of civil unrest, was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday, a day after the officer turned in her badge.

Daunte Wright, 20, was pulled over on Sunday in Brooklyn Center, just outside Minneapolis, for what police said was an expired vehicle registration, then struggled with police and was shot to death by officer Kimberly Potter, 48, who drew her handgun instead of a Taser in what officials called an accident.

The shooting escalated tensions in a region already on edge over the ongoing trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the use of deadly force last May against George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was suspected of passing a bogus $20 bill.

Potter, a 26-year department veteran, was taken into custody by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at the agency鈥檚 office in nearby St. Paul, authorities said.

She was booked into Hennepin County jail on a charge of second-degree manslaughter but released hours later on a $100,000 bond, according to jail records. Her first court appearance was set for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (1830 GMT).

Protesters assembled outside Brooklyn Center police headquarters for a third night on Tuesday, some throwing bottles and other projectiles over a fence surrounding the building. Officers fired tear gas, non-lethal rounds, and flash-bang rounds, to disperse the crowd.

Responding to criticism that law enforcement overreacted to a small-scale provocation two hours before a city curfew took effect, Mayor Mike Elliott said the local sheriff鈥檚 office, rather than city police, oversaw crowd-control operations on Tuesday night.

鈥淕assing, in my opinion, is not a humane way of policing,鈥� Elliott told reporters on Wednesday. He also urged demonstrators to remain peaceful, saying: 鈥淭he eyes of the world are on Brooklyn Center.鈥�

Elliott later joined a small gathering of Wright鈥檚 relatives and supporters at a newly erected memorial, featuring a wooden sculpture of a clenched fist, near the spot where Wright was slain.

Gun vs taser

To convict Potter of second-degree manslaughter under Minnesota law, prosecutors must show that she was 鈥渃ulpably negligent鈥� and took an 鈥渦nreasonable risk鈥� in her actions against Wright. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

In a police video of the shooting, Potter shouts: 鈥淭aser, Taser, Taser!鈥� as she draws her weapon and opens fire on Wright in his car after he had just pulled away from a fellow officer, then she is heard to say: 鈥淗oly shit, I just shot him.鈥�

City Police Chief Jim Gannon, who also resigned on Tuesday, has said the shooting appeared to have been accidental.

The Washington County Attorney鈥檚 Office, which brought the case, said Potter was acting as her partner鈥檚 field training officer at the time of the shooting.

鈥淐ertain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer,鈥� Imran Ali, head of the county attorney鈥檚 major crimes unit, said in a statement.

Prosecutors will seek to prove that Potter 鈥渁brogated her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm rather than her Taser,鈥� he said. 鈥淗er action caused the unlawful killing of Mr. Wright, and she must be held accountable.鈥�

Potter鈥檚 handgun and Taser were holstered on opposite sides of her belt in such a way that she would have had to use her left hand to draw the electric-stun device, the county attorney鈥檚 office said. Instead, she pulled her Glock 9mm pistol with her right hand.

The prosecutors also said Potter鈥檚 partner officer, Anthony Luckey, had determined after stopping Wright that he had an outstanding warrant for a 鈥済ross misdemeanor weapons charge.鈥�

鈥楾his was no accident鈥�

Wright died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, the coroner concluded in an autopsy that ruled the case a homicide.

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, representing Wright鈥檚 family, said the case brought against Potter fell short of fulfilling a greater need for police reform in the United States.

鈥淭his was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force,鈥� Crump said in a statement. 鈥淒riving while Black continues to result in a death sentence.鈥�

The shooting has renewed criticism of discretionary vehicle stops for minor traffic violations, in which police officers have legal leeway to act on racial bias, civil rights advocates say.

It has also drawn attention to potential issues with the use of Tasers by police officers, with some experts saying problems persist with training and the weapon鈥檚 design.

Potter is at least the third U.S. law enforcement officer to face charges after claiming they mistakenly killed someone with a gun when they meant to use a Taser.

Wright was killed just miles from the Minneapolis courthouse where the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former policeman charged with murdering Floyd last May, is taking place.

Floyd, who died in handcuffs with his neck pinned to the street under Chauvin鈥檚 knee, became the face of a national movement against racial injustice and police brutality as protests against his killing swept the United States last year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.