A white police officer who shot and fatally wounded 20-year-old African-American Dode Wright in Minnesota has been charged with negligent homicide.
Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis suburban police stopped 20-year-old Dode Wright on Sunday night because his car’s license plate had expired.
The young man then confronted the police before falling dead from the fire of 48-year-old policeman Kimberly Potter, who had threatened to hit him with a teaser, but shot with her gun.
Potter, who has worked for the police for 26 years, was arrested yesterday on a charge of negligent homicide, but was released a few hours later after posting a $ 100,000 bail. Today he is going to appear in court for the first time, according to AMPE.
In the meantime yesterday Wednesday, for the fourth night in a row, protesters gathered outside the Brooklyn Center police station remaining largely peaceful.
However, groups of protesters verbally attacked the police who had formed a chain in front of the building, while they also threw objects. Police responded using pepper spray.
When the curfew went into effect, police with the assistance of the National Guard dispersed the crowd using pepper spray and cluster bombs.
Minnesota prosecutors must prove that Potter showed “criminal negligence” in order to be convicted of negligent homicide and that she took an “unreasonable risk” with her actions against Wright. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
In a police video of the incident, Potter is heard shouting “teaser, teaser, teaser!” as she pulls out her gun and shoots Wright who was away from her co-worker and was in his car. Then he is heard to say: “My God, I shot him.”
According to the medical examiner, Wright died from a bullet he received in the chest.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Jim Gannon, who, like Potter, resigned on Tuesday, said the incident appeared to be an accident.
Potter’s gun and her teaser are on opposite sides of her belt, so she needs to use her left hand to pull the teaser and her right hand for her service weapon, the county attorney’s office said. Potter pulled her Glock with her right hand. He is the third police officer in the United States to face charges after claiming to have killed someone for confusing his service weapon with a teaser.
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