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Kim Potter, identified as the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a weekend traffic stop near Minneapolis, resigned from her position "effectively immediately," Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said in a statement Tuesday.

What's new: Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday, Elliott said at a press conference. Elliot also called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to turn the case over to Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is currently prosecuting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Background: Potter had been with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, per the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop just before 2 p.m. Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minn.

Police said Monday that Potter had inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a Taser during the traffic stop. She was placed on administrative leave on Monday.

The Hennepin County medical examiner said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting an independent investigation of the incident.

The big picture: Wright's killing, just 10 miles from where George Floyd died a year ago, has sparked Black Lives Matter protests and new calls for police reform. 

A judge denied a request by Chauvin's lawyers on Monday to sequester the jury in his murder trial due to the civil unrest surrounding Wright's death.

Go deeper: Fallout over Daunte Wright shooting continues

Police chief and officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright resign

Kim Potter was a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

Protesters in front of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 13. Photo: Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Officer-involved shootings

Black History Month

Kim Potter, identified as the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a weekend traffic stop near Minneapolis, resigned from her position &quot;effectively immediately,&quot; Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said in a statement Tuesday.What&#x27;s new: Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday, Elliott said at a press conference. Elliot also called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to turn the case over to Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is currently prosecuting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Politics

Derek Chauvin's defense team rested its case Thursday after the former Minneapolis police officer said that he would not testify at his murder trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Why it matters: The impact of the Derek Chauvin trial, seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades, is reverberating across the country. Closing arguments are expected by April 19.

Between the lines: Taking the stand could have opened Chauvin to "devastating cross-examination, with prosecutors replaying the video of the arrest and forcing Chauvin to explain, one frame at a time, why he kept pressing down on Floyd," AP reports.

Testifying would have also given Chauvin the opportunity to publicly defend himself. 

The only time he had been heard defending himself during the trial was when the jury listened to body-camera footage from the scene, when Chauvin told a bystander: “We gotta control this guy ’cause he’s a sizable guy ... and it looks like he’s probably on something.”

Chauvin defense calls first witnesses as prosecution rests case

Defense use-of-force expert says Chauvin's actions were "justified"

Judge denies Chauvin lawyers' motion to sequester jury after Daunte Wright shooting

Top homicide lieutenant: Chauvin's use of force was "totally unnecessary"

Medical examiner: Police restraint was "just more than Floyd could take"

Derek Chauvin will not testify at trial, invoking Fifth Amendment

The defense rested its case without putting the former officer on the stand.

George Floyd

Derek Chauvin&#x27;s defense team rested its case Thursday after the former Minneapolis police officer said that he would not testify at his murder trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.Why it matters: The impact of the Derek Chauvin trial, seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades, is reverberating across the country. Closing arguments are expected by April 19.

Orion Rummler

Featured stories

Derek Chauvin will not testify at trial, invoking Fifth Amendment

Police chief and officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright resign