Kim Potter, senior police officer of the Brooklyn Center Police Department (BCPD), is charged with second-degree manslaughter.
She resigned her position after shooting and killing a Black man, Duante Wright, on April 11 in Minnesota.
“I am tendering my resignation from the Brooklyn Center Police Department effective immediately. I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this 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,” said Potter in her resignation letter.
She faces a maximum of 10 years in jail according to Minnesota law.
Duante Wright was pulled over with his girlfriend in their car around 1:50 p.m. due to an expired tag on his window and an unknown object hanging in his rearview window. While on the scene, police also became aware of an outstanding warrant issued to Wright. The warrant was issued around April 2 due to Wright fleeing police last year and his failure to attend a court hearing for carrying a pistol without a permit more than a month ago.
“Officers determined that the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant. At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle,” stated a statement released by the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
Once Wright re-entered his vehicle, Potter began to grapple with the 20-year-old and threatened to tase him, but instead of her taser, the 26-year vet pulled out a gun and shot the young man. After being shot, Wright drove away and “traveled for several blocks before striking another vehicle,” said BCPD police chief Tim Gannon, who has also resigned. Wright’s girlfriend was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Crowds gathered in Minnesota immediately following the event to protest and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has enforced a curfew from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. to ensure the safety of individuals residing near the protests.
The BCPD has reached out to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) to carry out an independent investigation on the incident, which is currently in progress. There is speculation that the shooting was no accident, due to police members only carrying their gun on their dominant side, which allegedly leaves little room for error.
Mayor Frey is advocating for the immediate arrest of the senior officer, but other city officials are calling for due process. The due process clause, included in the Fourteenth Amendment, is a legal process that subjects the state to respect an individual’s legal rights before taking action.
This incident reached the public merely hours before the continuation of the trial of Derek Chauvin, who has since been convicted of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year. This killing, like Floyd’s death, has sparked the “No justice, no peace!” movement among Black Lives Matter supporters.
“We empathize with the pain that Black mothers, fathers, and children are feeling after yet another senseless tragedy,” said former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michele Obama in a statement to the public. “And we will continue to work with all fair-minded Americans to confront historical inequities and bring about nationwide changes that are so long overdue.”
