Jury selection is set to begin on Tuesday (November 30) in the trial of former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Kim Potter in the shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
Potter fatally shot Daunte during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021.
She is charged with first and second-degree manslaughter.
Tim Gannon, the police chief at the time, claims Potter meant to use her taser, but unintentionally grabbed her gun.
Criminal defense attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with the case, says selecting a jury will be difficult.
It’s going to be difficult because many people have seen this video, many people know the situation, so the issue will become this: regardless as to whether or not someone has seen the videos, read about the case, heard about the case, can they put that all aside and try to be a fair and impartial juror?
That’s the person that they want to find.
Tamburino also gave his insight on the charges against Kim Potter.
In both cases, we’re dealing with recklessness or negligence. And for the first-degree manslaughter, that means that there’s an underlying offense. In this case, they’re alleging misdemeanor mishandling of a firearm.
For the second-degree, they’re just stating that it is reckless or extreme negligence. So for the second one, they would have to show that Ms. Potter was extremely negligent when she did the act.
For the first-degree, they would have to show not only was she negligent, but also, she did an underlying crime, meaning the misdemeanor mishandling of a weapon.
Watch a news report on the case below, courtesy of ABC News.
I will keep you updated on any major developments in this trial.
Source: CBS News
