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MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) -The white suburban police officer who fatally shot a young Black motorist during a traffic stop in a confrontation that ignited 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 in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on Sunday for what police said was an expired vehicle registration, then struggled with police and was shot dead by officer Kim 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 against George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man suspected of passing a bogus $20 bill, last May.
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Officer who shot Daunte Wright has been charged with manslaughter
and last updated 2021-04-14 17:34:33-04
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. â Prosecutors have filed a second-degree manslaughter charge against the former police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Minnesota on Sunday.
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announce the charge against Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter in a press release on Wednesday.
Potter, 48, resigned from the department on Tuesday, two days after she fired the fatal shot that killed Wright during a traffic stop on Sunday.
In a press conference on Monday, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said he believed that Potter meant to fire her Taser during a struggle but accidentally grabbed her gun. Gannon also resigned from the force on Tuesday.
Wright s death, which occurred as he fled a police traffic stop, heightened already-high tensions in and around Minneapolis due to the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for last year s killing of George Floyd.
Body camera video footage from Potter during Sunday s confrontation suggests she believed she had pulled out a Taser when she pointed the weapon at Wright and fired after he twisted away from another officer who was trying to handcuff him next to his SUV.
Police then tried to arrest Wright after learning that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court in a criminal case, where he was charged with carrying a gun without a permit, as well as with fleeing from police in June.
Live updates: Brooklyn Center curfew issued after officer charged in Daunte Wright s death
A former Brooklyn Center officer arrested for fatally shooting a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Author: KARE Staff Updated: 4:45 PM CDT April 14, 2021
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