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Former police officer Kim Potter in court in Minneapolis
Photo: AP
In the trial of the violent death of 20-year-old Black Daunte Wright, jury found former white police officer Kim Potter guilty of manslaughter.
At a traffic stop, Potter had mistaken her service weapon for her taser, shot the black driver Daunte Wright and shot him in the chest.
A twelve-person jury found 49-year-old Potter guilty of first and second degree manslaughter.
In German legal usage, manslaughter of the first degree corresponds most closely to manslaughter.
Second-degree homicide, on the other hand, is more like negligent homicide.
The judge refused to grant a motion to let the 49-year-old go free until the sentence was pronounced.
Murder was reminiscent of George Floyd
The incident took place on April 11th in Brooklyn Center - a suburb of Minneapolis.
Wright was shot in the chest.
The death of the 20-year-old black sparked violent demonstrations in Brooklyn Center and upset the whole country.
The incident occurred just a few miles north of where former police officer Derek Chauvin was on trial for the killing of George Floyd.
Floyd's death in 2020 sparked protests against racism and police brutality around the world under the motto "Black Lives Matter".
Lawyers: "regrettable mistake"
Former police officer Kim Potter testified during the trial that she accidentally shot Wright at the traffic stop.
It was an unfortunate mistake, not a crime, said her lawyer.
Wright tried to escape the officers when they tried to handcuff him because he was under an arrest warrant for gun possession.
The public prosecutor argued, however, that the defendant had acted negligently and recklessly.
Potter has been a police officer for 26 years.
Therefore, her mistake is inexcusable.
Potter also disregarded her training, which included taser-specific courses in the months leading up to the incident, and took a conscious and unreasonable risk by using a weapon against the unarmed Wright.
The death of the 20-year-old was avoidable.
The defendant burst into tears during the trial and apologized.
Outwardly, she received the judgment calmly.
Up to 15 years in prison for first degree manslaughter.
However, the Minnesota judiciary adheres to guidelines, which typically provide lower sentences.
col / Reuters / dpa