A 20-year-old man was allegedly killed after a female officer accidentally shot him while trying to use a Taser in Minneapolis.
The senior female cop who allegedly shot and killed Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021, was identified as a 25-year veteran of the force Kimberly Potter.
Who is Kimberly Potter?
The Brooklyn Center Police officer was identified as Kimberly Potter, a 25-year veteran of the force, who allegedly fired her gun while trying to use a Taser after Wright, 20, was pulled over.
Potter, 48, has reportedly been placed on administrative duty, while Brooklyn Center Police Department is facing calls for her to resign.
The Star Tribune reports that she is a mother to two adults sons, and joined the police force in Minnesota in 1995 at the age of 22.
She also reportedly served on the negotiation team during her tenure at the department.
Why did Kimberly Potter shoot Daunte Wright?
Bodycam footage has revealed the moment Wright was killed during a routine traffic stop.
According to a statement from the Brooklyn Center Police Department,Wright was pulled over for a traffic violation.
Officers tried to take him into custody when they discovered he had an outstanding warrant.
As he got back into his car, one of the officers shot him dead.
Wright’s sobbing mother Katie told a crowd how her son called her to say he had been pulled over by police because of an air freshener on his rearview mirror.
She said she heard officers tell her son to put his phone down, and then the call ended.
Soon after, her son's girlfriend told her he had been shot.
She told reporters: "All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car.
"He got out of the car and his girlfriend said they shot him."
What has Police chief Tim Gannon said?
On April 12, 2021, Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center Minnesota police chief, described the fatal shooting as "an accidental discharge," during a news briefing.
After watching the bodycam footage, he said: "This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers' reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright."
He said the officer who fired the fatal shot had intended to use a Taser – not a handgun.
He added that the officer will "not be returning to duty until the investigation has run its course".
He said the investigation was in its early stages and based on a preliminary police review of the video evidence.
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