MINNEAPOLIS -- Kim Potter's use of deadly force against Daunte Wright was not appropriate, a use-of-force expert testified Wednesday at the former suburban Minneapolis police officer's manslaughter trial, undercutting a defense argument that she would have been justified in shooting Wright even if she didn't mean to.
The defense has called the shooting a horrific mistake, but has also asserted that Potter would have been within her rights to use deadly force on Wright because he might have dragged another officer with his car. Potter is white and Wright was Black, and his death set off several nights of angry protests in Brooklyn Center. It happened while a white former officer, Derek Chauvin, was on trial in nearby Minneapolis for the killing of George Floyd.
What's more, Stoughton said, “a reasonable officer in that situation would not have believed” those threats existed. Earlier Wednesday, a use-of-force and Taser instructor from the Brooklyn Center Police Department testified that officers are allowed to use deadly force to stop fleeing suspects. “Mistakes can happen when someone confuses a Taser with a gun?” Potter attorney Paul Engh asked Peterson.Stoughton testified later that he knew of only 20 such cases, but defense attorneys used objections to prevent him from talking about how significant that was to Potter's case.