Attorneys for Ex-Brooklyn Center Officer File Motion to Dismiss New Charge in Daunte Wright Killing

The attorneys for former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss a manslaughter charge filed earlier this month against her. Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison added a count of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a mandatory three-year prison term if convicted. First-degree manslaughter requires reckless use of a firearm. By state statute, the offense involves using “such force and violence that death or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.”

Potter’s defense lawyers, Earl Gray and Paul Engh, argue that Potter didn’t consciously realize she was holding a gun, when, as seen on bodycam video, she yelled ‘Taser’ three times.

According to the motion filed:

“Officer Potter’s reaction to the accidental and mistaken discharge was to say, as the Complaint notes, ‘S***,’ and ‘I grabbed the wrong f****** gun,’ and acknowledged, ‘I shot him.’ Remorse for her mistake is evident.”

Potter’s attorneys argue that the amended complaint filed by Attorney General Ellison “under-plays” Wright’s conduct during the incident, with the motion noting that the 20-year-old had a warrant out for his arrest, and that he resisted arrest.

“By attempting to flee, Mr. Wright committed what was, by Supreme Court opinion, a dangerous crime, a Minnesota felony no less,” the motion states.

In addition to the new first-degree manslaughter charge, Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Potter is scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 30. The second-degree manslaughter charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. First-degree manslaughter has a maximum 15-year sentence.

Brooklyn Center