Charges have been handed down in the Brooklyn Center shooting.
The Washington County Attorney's Office will charge former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly A. Potter with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death on Sunday of Daunte Wright, according to County Attorney Pete Orput.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
You can read the MN statute for 2nd degree manslaughter here ==> (link)
Apparently officers being charged for this "mistake" is not unprecedented.
It's at least the third time that a U.S. law enforcement officer will face criminal charges for killing someone in what they claim or what appears to be a mix-up between a gun and a Taser.
A 73-year-old volunteer reserve deputy in Oklahoma was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the 2015 death of Eric Harris. Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a jury trial and sentenced to two years in prison for the 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant III.
At the end of the day I believe this was an unfortunate accident (albeit a fatal one), so I'm certain Ms. Potter's defense attorney will argue that point vehemently.
Even if Potter gets the maximum sentence of ten years, it certainly won't be enough in the minds of Wight's loved ones who are mourning this loss or those who simply lump this into the category of white cop=dead black man. However, each situation has its own set of variables so we need to look at this specific case independent of all other high profile black deaths at the hands of police. Sadly that's easier said than done for those whose community has the impression of being disproportionately impacted.
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