With jury set, Potter trial turns to opening statements

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two views of the Minnesota police officer who killed Daunte Wright 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 a veteran officer who had undergone extensive training that warned against such a mix-up. Potter is white and Wright was Black. The shooting roiled the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for days just as former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was on trial in George Floyd’s death.

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