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Agence France-Presse

The police officer who shot dead black 20-year-old Daunte Wright in a Minneapolis suburb after appearing to mistake her gun for her taser was arrested Wednesday on manslaughter charges.
Minneapolis has been roiled by nightly violent protests after Kim Potter, who is white, opened fire on Wright in his car on Sunday.
Racial tensions were already high in the Midwestern US city as it hosts the trial of the white policeman charged with murdering George Floyd, whose death touched off a national reckoning over racial injustice.
Potter, a 26-year police veteran who resigned after Wright’s death, faces a maximum of 10 years in jail if convicted of second-degree manslaughter.


She was due to appear in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing after being released on a US$100,000 bail, according to local media.
“While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back,” said the Wrights’ family lawyer Ben Crump after the arrest.
Minnesota officer who pulled trigger meant to draw taser, police chief says
“This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force. We will keep fighting for justice for Daunte, for his family, and for all marginalised people of colour.”


Protesters faced off with police for a fourth night of violent clashes on Wednesday evening.
Riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside the fortified police station in Brooklyn Center, the suburb where Sunday’s shooting took place.
Body camera footage showed officers pulling Wright out of his car after stopping him for a traffic violation and discovering he had an outstanding warrant. 
 The warrant was for his failure to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.


When officers attempt to handcuff Wright, he scuffles with them and gets back in the car. Potter shouts, “taser, taser, taser” but a gunshot is then heard.
“Holy sh**, I shot him,” she says.
Student who fired at police at Tennessee high school shot dead
The local county attorney said Potter, 48, had drawn her Glock 9mm handgun with her right hand.
“These situations show the over-policing that is done in the black community,” said long-time civil rights activist Al Sharpton.

“I believe if Wright or George (Floyd) had been of a different colour in a different community, they would have at most been given a ticket, they would not be dead.”
US President Joe Biden called the Wright’s killing “tragic” but urged calm as authorities conduct an investigation.
Potter is at least the third US law enforcement officer to face charges after claiming they mistakenly killed someone with a gun when they meant to use a taser.
Joe Biden unveils steps to tackle America’s rampant gun violence
Wright was shot 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’s 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.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press


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United States

Daunte Wright death: Minnesota officer Kim Potter charged with manslaughter after shooting ignites violent protests

Kim Potter has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Photo: AFP

Daunte Wright and his son, Daunte Jnr. Photo: AP

Officer Kim Potter used her Glock 9mm handgun instead of a taser. Photo: AFP

Protesters use umbrellas during clashes with police outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Photo: DPA

Daunte Wright death: Minnesota officer who pulled trigger meant to draw taser, police chief says

Police face off with demonstrators outside Brooklyn Center police station in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Photo: AFP

A screen grab of police body cam footage shows a police officer’s gun drawn before the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. Photo: Brooklyn Center Police Department

Police respond to protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis. Photo: AP

A crowd gathers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday. Photo: AP

People run as police attempt to disperse the crowd at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, on Sunday night. Photo: AP

Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie. Photo: AP

Demonstrators shout ‘don’t shoot’ as they protest the death of Daunte Wright. Photo: AFP

A statue in the form of a fist made in the name of George Floyd was placed near where Daunte Wright was shot. Photo: AFP

Demonstrators confront police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Photo: AFP

Ex-policeman’s trial in George Floyd death delayed over possible added charge

Demonstrators protest outside the Hennepin County Government Centre before jury selection at the trial of former policeman Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on Monday. Photo: AFP

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer facing murder charges in the death of George Floyd, sits in court on the first day of jury selection in his trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., March 8, 2021 in this courtroom sketch from a video feed of the proceedings. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

epaselect epa09062353 Members of the National Guard stand guard part of the security outside the the Hennepin County Government Center as jury selection begins in the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, Minnesota, USA, 08 March 2021. Jury selection was delayed to 09 March. Opening statements in the trial is expected to be on 29 March. EPA-EFE/CRAIG LASSIG

George Floyd death: US cities relax curfews as protesters welcome new charges against police

Demonstrators lay on the ground facing a police line in front of the White House on Wednesday during protests over the death of George Floyd. Photo: AFP

This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows Derek Chauvin, from left, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by him and the other Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Kueng, Lane and Thao have been charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A man takes photos of protest signs on a car during protests in downtown Los Angeles, California, June 3, 2020 as an estimated 10,000 protesters took to downtown Los Angeles to decry police brutality and condemn the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. - Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, a black man who later died, will now be charged with second-degree murder, and his three colleagues will also face charges, court documents revealed on June 3. The May 25 death of George Floyd -- who had been accused of trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit bill -- has ignited protests across the United States over systemic racism and police brutality. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin charged with murder in George Floyd case

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during the arrest of George Floyd. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Protestors yell outside a home in Windermere, Fla., on Friday, May 29, 2020, The home is owned by Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer videotaped kneeling on the neck of George Floyd before his death. The video has sparked a national outcry. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

News

World

United States & Canada


Officer Kim Potter shot unarmed black man during traffic stop Sunday in Minneapolis 
Shooting has fuelled days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police



The fatal shooting of Daunte Wright has ignited days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police in a Minneapolis suburb.


George Floyd protests

Crime

Gun violence in the US

Human rights

Daunte Wright death: Minnesota officer Kim Potter charged with manslaughter after shooting ignites violent protests

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Officer Kim Potter shot unarmed black man during traffic stop Sunday in Minneapolis Shooting has fuelled days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police

Officer Kim Potter shot unarmed black man during traffic stop Sunday in Minneapolis

Shooting has fuelled days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police