Opening statements begin Wednesday in trial of former Minnesota cop who fatally shot Daunte Wright

Two views of the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright earlier this year will collide in opening statements at her manslaughter trial.

The defense claims that Kim Potter made an innocent mistake by pulling her handgun instead of her Taser when she shot Wright in April as he sought to pull away from a traffic stop.

The prosecution will portray Potter as a veteran officer who had undergone extensive training that warned against such a mix-up.

Wednesday’s opening statements come after it took almost a week to seat a jury that turned out to be mostly white.

The April shooting took place in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Body camera footage from the incident shows Wright attempting to flee the scene in his car after a traffic stop. Video shows that Potter repeatedly yelled “Taser!” before pulling her gun and fatally shooting Wright.

Potter is white, and Wright was Black.

The shooting sparked several days of unrest in Brooklyn Center. The incident took place as the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was getting underway just miles away.

Potter faces charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter.

Opening statements in Potter’s trial will begin at 10 a.m. ET.

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