Kim Potter trial: Prosecutors deliver closing arguments

The state has delivered its closing arguments in the trial of Kim Potter, telling the jury that, at the heart of it ‘this case is very simple’ and Daunte Wright’s death was, ‘entirely avoidable.’ 

The mostly white jury will begin deliberating after Potter’s lawyers present their closing arguments. 

Judge Regina Chu told jurors that she will not make them deliberate on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. They’ll return after the holiday if they haven’t reached a verdict by then.  

Speaking on Monday morning, prosecutor Erin Eldridge attempted to remove any doubt and refocus jurors’ minds after eight days of testimony.

This was ‘no little oopsy’ she said. ‘This was not putting the wrong date on a check. This was not entering the wrong password. This was a colossal screw up, a blunder of epic proportions.’

Closing arguments began in the manslaughter trial of the former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter (pictured) on Monday

Closing arguments began in the manslaughter trial of the former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter (pictured) on Monday 

Potter, a 26-year veteran in the force, claims she accidentally shot Daunte Wright when she reached for her gun instead of her taser during a traffic stop over his expired plates in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Daunte Wright, 20, was pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror and expired license plate tags

Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran in the force, claims she accidentally shot Daunte Wright (right) when she reached for her gun instead of her taser during a traffic stop over his expired plates in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on April 11

‘It was precisely what she had been warned about for years. It was irreversible and it was fatal.’

Eldridge stripped it back, ‘We’re here because the defendant Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of Brooklyn Center Police Department pulled the wrong weapon and she shot and killed Daunte Wright. And at the heart of it this case is very simple.

‘It’s a case about the defendant’s reckless handling of her firearm and it’s about her culpable negligence. It’s about what she did on April 11.’

‘The defendant told you her sons will be home for the holidays,’ Eldridge stated. ‘You know who won’t be home for the holidays is Daunte Wright.

‘Daunte Wright’s parents Katie and Arbuey will have an empty seat at their table [this holiday].’

Taking the court through the events of April 11 minute by minute Eldridge reminded jurors how Potter had aimed her gun at Wright’s chest, tracking his movements.

She was not, Eldridge noted, tracking Sergeant Mychal Johnson’s movements even though the defense has claimed that she was trying to protect and who was, they maintain, in danger of being dragged by Wright’s car. 

Daunte Wright's father Arbuey Wright arrives at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis Monday ahead of closing arguments in Kim Potter's trial

Daunte Wright’s father Arbuey Wright arrives at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis Monday ahead of closing arguments in Kim Potter’s trial 

Wright's mother Katie Bryant is seen outside court Monday morning

Wright’s mother Katie Bryant is seen outside court Monday morning 

Prosecutor Erin Eldridge said during closing arguments in Kim Potter's manslaughter trial Monday that Wright's death was 'entirely preventable. Totally avoidable'

Prosecutor Erin Eldridge said during closing arguments in Kim Potter’s manslaughter trial Monday that Wright’s death was ‘entirely preventable. Totally avoidable’

Eldridge dismissed Potter’s claim that she saw a look of fear in Johnson’s face before pulling what she thought was her taser. According to Eldridge, ‘If she even caught a glimpse of Sgt Johnson [ahead of firing the shot] she wouldn’t have got a good look at him.’

Eldridge was blunt, ‘She drew a deadly weapon. She aimed it. She pointed it at Daunte Wright’s chest, and she fired.

CHARGES AND POTENTIAL PENALTIES IN KIM POTTER TRIAL: 

FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER PREDICATED ON RECKLESS USE/HANDLING OF FIREARM AND SECOND-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER: 

  • First-degree manslaughter in this case means prosecutors allege that Potter caused Wright’s death while committing a misdemeanor – the ‘reckless handling or use of a firearm so as to endanger the safety of another with such force and violence that death or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.’
  • The second-degree manslaughter charge alleges that she caused his death ‘by her culpable negligence,’ meaning that Potter ’caused an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm’ to Wright, while using or possessing a firearm.
  • Neither charge requires prosecutors to prove Potter intended to kill Wright.

POTENTIAL PENALTIES:

  • The maximum for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years; for second-degree, it’s 10 years. But Minnesota judges follow sentencing guidelines that normally call for less – just over seven years for first-degree, and four years for second-degree.
  • Prosecutors have said they will seek a longer sentence due to aggravating factors, which is what they did in former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial for killing George Floyd.
  • The longest sentences that could conceivably stick on appeal are double the top of the guidelines range. But that’s more than the statutory maximum of 15 years for first-degree manslaughter, so 15 years would be the cap for Potter if she’s convicted. The realistic maximum on the lesser charge would be 9 1/2 years.
  • Presuming good behavior, Minnesota offenders typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and one-third on supervised release.  

Source: AP 

‘The defense will tell you that Daunte Wright is somehow to blame in causing his own death but make no mistake, we’re here because of the defendant’s actions not Daunte Wrights.’

For 26 years, Eldridge said, Potter carried her gun on her duty belt, on the right-hand side. For 26 years she trained in its use every year and for 19 year she trained in the use of her taser and signed off on acknowledging the danger of weapon confusion.

Yet she drew her gun, Eldridge said, ‘That’s culpable negligence and reckless handling of a firearm resulting in death.

‘It’s about the defendant’s rash and reckless conduct it’s not about her being a nice person. Even nice people have to obey the law.’

The case is not, she insisted, about the smell of marijuana, or an outstanding warrant for Wright’s arrest or the discovery of a protection order against him and, she added, ‘it certainly isn’t about someone being dragged.’

According to Eldridge, ‘What this case is really about is about an officer who mishandled her firearm. That’s why we’re here and even if you take the defendant’s word for it, she admits that’s what she did.

‘She knew it was wrong and she knew from the very beginning she was no rookie it wasn’t her first day on the job. She was an FTO she had 26 years of experience on the street’

Doubling down on her dismissal of the defense’s contention that Potter was motivated by a belief that he fellow officer Sgt Johnson was in any danger at all Eldridge said, ‘The defendant didn’t save Sgt Johnson’s life. Both Alayna Albrecht-Payton and Sgt Johnson were in the line of fire.

‘If anyone saved Sgt Johnson’s life it was Daunte Wright when he took a bullet to the chest. And you saw Officer Luckey was so close that the cartridge casing bounced off his face.’

‘Carrying and gun and a badge is not,’ she said, ‘A license to kill. You don’t get to shoot someone when things don’t go according to plan.’

No-one, the prosecutor said, ‘is saying the defendant meant to kill Daunte Wright.’ But no intent is necessary to convict her.

To convict on the first count of manslaughter in the first degree the jury must find that she caused Wright’s death on April 11, 2021, while committing the crime of reckless handling or use of a firearm.

Addressing the jury ahead of closing arguments Judge Regina Chu explained that reckless handling or use of a firearm is a conscious or intentional act in connection with the handling of a firearm that creates a substantial risk that she is aware of and that endangers the safety of another person.

Guilt on the second count – manslaughter in the second degree – requires the jury to find that Potter caused Wright’s death on April 11, 2021, through culpable negligence whereby she created an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm. 

There is no need for jurors to believe that Potter intended to cause harm, only that her actions were intentional and that a reasonable person would have foreseen a strong probability of those actions causing death or great bodily harm. 

Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown body cam and dash cam footage of the dramatic moment Potter shot Wright dead after 'accidentally' pulling out her gun instead of her taser

Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown body cam and dash cam footage of the dramatic moment Potter shot Wright dead after ‘accidentally’ pulling out her gun instead of her taser 

Prosecutors argued that Potter betrayed her badge and oath by using her weapon 'rashly or recklessly' on the day of the botched traffic stop

Prosecutors argued that Potter betrayed her badge and oath by using her weapon ‘rashly or recklessly’ on the day of the botched traffic stop 

Potter broke down in tears as she testified in her trial Friday, hoping to persuade jurors to acquit her of manslaughter charges in what she has said was a gun-Taser mix-up

Potter broke down in tears as she testified in her trial Friday, hoping to persuade jurors to acquit her of manslaughter charges in what she has said was a gun-Taser mix-up

Eldridge told the court: ‘An ordinary prudent person would not have drawn a weapon, aimed it and pulled the trigger all without recognizing or confirming what was in her hand

‘The defendant created an unreasonable risk to Daunte Wright and everyone else around him by doing what she did. She put that into motion.

‘She consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm by pulling a weapon and firing it without given it a second thought.

‘She knew she had a loaded Glock on her belt, loaded with hollow point rounds and all you had to do was pull the trigger.

‘Not only did that have the probability of killing someone. She actually killed someone.’

‘We’re here because this was entirely preventable. Totally avoidable if she had followed her training, paid attention to what she was doing and considered the risk.’

According to Eldridge, Potter herself admitted her guilt, in her testimony in court and in her candid words, caught on bodycam footage, immediately after the shooting.

Eldridge reminded jurors: ‘On April 11 she said: ‘I shot him. I pulled the wrong f***ing gun. I’m going to prison. I killed a boy.’

‘She used deadly force she put a bullet through his heart, and she killed him. And her statements are admissions that she was unreasonable.

‘She put it all in motion despite all the risks. It’s her hand. It’s her gun. It’s her actions.’

She was seen screaming and burying her face in her hands moments after she fired her gun

She was seen screaming and burying her face in her hands moments after she fired her gun

A fellow officer was heard in bodycam footage trying to comfort Potter, telling her to breathe and sit down as she cries saying she is going to prison

As the footage played on Potter could be seen standing at a wire fencing by the roadside repeating over and over, 'Oh my God, what have I done?'

Bodycam footage from a fellow officer showed Potter sitting roadside repeating over and over, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ and crying that she is ‘going to prison’

Even the decision to use a taser was not a wise one, Eldridge maintained, reminding the court of the evidence of state Use of Force witness Professor Seth Stoughton.

Potter, 49, is charged with first and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 shooting of Daunte Wright

Potter, 49, is charged with first and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 shooting of Daunte Wright

She urged them to look cynically upon the credibility of members of Potter’s ‘police family’ who testified in her support – several of them state witnesses.

The state, Eldridge pointed out, doesn’t get to choose the witnesses to a crime. ‘The defendant has found herself in trouble and her police family had her back’

‘Don’t speculate,’ she urged them, ‘Don’t get sucked down that rabbit hole of hypotheticals and misdirection.’

She urged them to use their common sense she urged, review the videos, play them and replay them and to focus their attentions on the views of experts further from ‘the bias of other officers.’ 

Returning to the theme of the opening statement that she delivered last week Eldridge reiterated: ‘She betrayed her badge and she betrayed her oath. She betrayed Daunte Wright and her fellow officers and her conduct was criminal.’

This case is not about Wright, she told them: ‘He is not on trial. He’s not the reason we’re here today, so whether or not you agree with this decision to flee is not what this case is about.

‘He’s not the defendant here. This case is about Kimberly Potter. We’re here today because of her conduct, her choices and her actions. We’re here today because she killed Daunte Wright.’

The way Eldridge painted it, this wasn’t just a tragedy, it was a crime and it was the result of the choices that Potter had made.

Finishing up her lengthy closing, Eldridge said: ‘Of course she’s sorry. Of course she feels bad. There’s no disputing that but that has no place in your deliberations.

‘Be fair, act honestly, deliberate without prejudice, bias or sympathy and without regard to your personal likes or dislikes. 

‘This case is not about remorse. It’s about the defendant’s actions in shooting and killing Daunte Wright.

‘She knew how to get it right, but she failed to get it right. She failed Daunte Wright.

‘She chose wrong, instead of right. She chose her gun and she shot Daunte Wright.’

This image provided by the prosecution earlier in the trial shows the difference between a Taser and a Glock

This image provided by the prosecution earlier in the trial shows the difference between a Taser and a Glock 

Eldridge drew attention to the moments when Potter took a piece of paper out of Wright's hand and placed it in her own (pictured) as Officer Luckey tried in vain to handcuff him

Eldridge drew attention to the moments when Potter took a piece of paper out of Wright’s hand and placed it in her own (pictured) as Officer Luckey tried in vain to handcuff him

The bodycam played to the point where Potter could be heard shouting 'Taser! Taser! Taser!'

The bodycam played to the point where Potter could be heard shouting ‘Taser! Taser! Taser!’

The defense rested Friday after Potter took the stand telling jurors in a tearful testimony that she ‘didn’t want to hurt anybody,’ and that she shouted a warning about using her Taser on Wright after she saw fear in a fellow officer’s face. 

Potter, 49, testified that she was ‘sorry it happened.’ 

She said she didn’t remember what she said or everything that happened after the shooting, saying much of her memory of those moments ‘is missing.’

Potter is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 death of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist who was pulled over in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.

Prosecutors have to prove recklessness or culpable negligence in order to win a conviction on the manslaughter charges.

Potter, who was training another officer at the time, told the court that she ‘most likely’ would not have pulled Wright’s car over if she had been on her own that day. 

After that initial encounter, the traffic stop ‘just went chaotic,’ she testified. 

‘I remember yelling, ‘Taser, Taser, Taser,’ and nothing happened, and then he told me I shot him,’ Potter said through tears.

Potter’s attorneys argued that she made a mistake but also would have been justified in using deadly force if she had meant to because Sgt. Mychal Johnson was at risk of being dragged by Wright´s car.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Erin Eldridge noted that Potter told a defense expert that she didn’t know why she drew her Taser. 

Quoting from the expert’s report, Eldridge said Potter told him: ‘I don’t have an answer, my brain said grab the Taser.’ Potter testified she didn’t recall saying that.

Prosecutors have argued that Potter had extensive training about Taser use and in use of deadly force, including warnings about confusing the two weapons. 

Eldridge got Potter to agree that her use-of-force training was a ‘key component’ of being an officer. 

Potter testified that she was trained on when to use force and how much to use, and that there was a department policy that dictated what officers could or could not do.

Wright’s death set off angry demonstrations for several days in Brooklyn Center. It happened as another white officer, Derek Chauvin, was standing trial in nearby Minneapolis for the killing of George Floyd. 

source: dailymail.co.uk