On Wednesday, a use-of-force expert concluded former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter was not justified in shooting Daunte Wright, 20.
On the stand, University of South Carolina School of Law professor Seth Stoughton said, “The use of fatal force was not justified, and the evidence demonstrates a reasonable officer in Officer Potter’s position could not have concluded it was proportional to the threat at the time.”
Stoughton, a former peace officer, also testified as an expert witness in the prosecution of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd earlier this year.
The defense in the trial has recognized that Potter made a mistake but has maintained that if she had intended to retrieve her pistol, she would have been within her rights to do so because of the risk that Wright might drag another officer with him when he drove away, according to The Associated Press.
Stoughton was questioned if an officer in Potter’s position would have been justified in using deadly force if they knew their taser warning had forced their colleague to back out of the automobile.
“No, it wouldn’t have been proportional since there’s no longer a fear of death or serious physical harm,” Stoughton replied.
To justify using deadly force, Stoughton said an officer in Potter’s position would have had to know that a fellow cop was in the car and was in danger of being dragged and that halting the driver would prevent this.
Wright was stopped by police when they saw that his license plate was expired and the air freshener was hanging from his car.
When cops attempted to remove Wright from his vehicle, he retreated. Potter said, “Tase him!” and aimed her rifle at him, according to body camera footage from the incident. “I just shot him,” Potter could be heard saying after Wright drove away.
Potter is accused of manslaughter in the first and second degrees.
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