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    Trial begins for ex-officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot Daunte Wright

    Defense lawyers argued that Potter's use of a weapon was justified, even as they acknowledged she meant to draw her Taser, not her handgun. "She's a human being," said attorney Paul Engh.
    by Becky Sullivan Dec 08, 2021 5 minutes
    Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, holds a portrait of Daunte Wright outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minnesota as Kim Potter's trial began Wednesday.

    Both sides in the manslaughter trial of former police officer Kim Potter agreed during opening statements that Potter meant to draw her Taser, rather than her handgun, during the traffic stop last April in suburban Minneapolis where she shot and killed a 20-year-old named Daunte Wright.

    Instead, prosecutors and defense lawyers on Wednesday walked the jury through Potter's career and training, the differences between a gun and a Taser, Wright's behavior and every possible detail of the traffic stop itself — all in an attempt to answer a different question: whether her mistake rose to the level of criminal recklessness.

    "It's about the reckless handling of a firearm, and it's about the disregard of known risks. It's about an officer who knew she could kill someone if she got it wrong but failed

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