Minnesota AG takes over prosecution of ex-cop Kim Potter in killing of Daunte Wright
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is taking over the prosecution of the ex-cop charged with killing Daunte Wright in a traffic stop last month, his office announced Friday.
Ellison’s team is reviewing the evidence and charges against Kim Potter, who faces a second-degree manslaughter charge in the Black man’s shooting. The Washington County attorney, who was overseeing the case until now, was under pressure to charge the white officer with murder.
Ellison did not immediately say whether his office would pursue higher charges against her. It was Ellison’s office that prosecuted and won a murder conviction against Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes last spring.
The April 11 shooting happened in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center as Chauvin’s trial was underway. The incident sparked new racial justice protests in the area and reignited calls for police reform.
Potter, a 26-year veteran of the city’s police department and a former union president, told her colleagues that she mistook her gun for her Taser when she shot Wright at close range, authorities said. Police bodycam footage showed the chaotic moments leading up to the shooting, which came after Wright ran back to his car after a traffic stop.
“Taser, Taser, Taser,” Potter shouted several times before firing her gun.
“S--t, I just shot him!” she said moments later.
The Hennepin County medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide. Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned shortly after the incident amid widespread public outrage.
“Daunte Wright was a son, a brother, a father, a friend,” Ellison said in a statement Friday. “When he died, he was only 20 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him.
“Daunte Wright’s death was a tragedy,” he added. “He should not have died on the day that he did. He should not have died the way that he did. His parents, brothers, sisters, and friends must now live the rest of their lives without him. His son, only two years old, will grow up without his father.”
Ellison agreed to take up the case at the request of Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott.
“I did not seek this prosecution and do not accept it lightly,” Ellison said while praising the work of prosecutors in Washington and Hennepin counties.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who hosted the Wright family at his home this week, said he was glad Ellison was taking the case.
“We heard their desire to have the strongest legal team possible to bring their family justice,” he said in a statement. “No verdict will bring Daunte back to his family, but I have full faith that Attorney General Ellison will build the best team possible to pursue accountability for what happened that tragic day.”
