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Apr 13, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright identified as Kim Potter

Rebecca Falconer
People gather at the start of the curfew to protest on April 12 the death of Wright.

People gather at the start of the curfew on Monday to protest the death of Wright. Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Police on Monday identified the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a weekend traffic stop near Minneapolis as Kim Potter.

Details: Potter has been with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, the The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said in an emailed statement.

  • The BCA said she's on standard administrative leave, but would not disclose any further details, citing the active investigation into Wright's death.

The big picture: Wright was shot and killed during a traffic stop just before 2 p.m. Sunday in Brooklyn Center, about 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year.

  • Police said earlier the officer had inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a Taser.
  • The Hennepin County medical examiner has said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
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