Prosecutor: Officer who killed Daunte Wright committed ‘colossal screw-up’

A prosecutor argued on Monday that the former Minnesota police officer who killed Daunte Wright should be held accountable for a “colossal screw-up, a blunder of epic proportions.”

Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge delivered her closing arguments in the trial of former officer Kim Potter before the jury began deliberations on Monday. 

“It goes to show that she made a series of bad choices that led to her shooting and killing Daunte Wright. It goes to her disregard of all the risks,” Eldridge told the jury of Potter, according to NBC News.

“Members of the jury, this was no little ‘oopsies.’ This was not putting the wrong date on a check. This was not entering the wrong password somewhere,” Eldridge said. “This was a colossal screw-up, a blunder of epic proportions. It was precisely the thing she had been warned about for years, and she was trained to prevent it. It was irreversible, and it was fatal.”

Potter, a white woman, has claimed that she was attempting to reach for her Taser when she mistakenly used her service weapon and fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black man. 

Meanwhile, Potter’s attorney Earl Gray has argued that his client should not be prosecuted for something he said was a tragic mistake, NBC reported. 

“You’ve never heard of a doctor being charged with making a mistake, and we know common sense and history tells you they’ve made many, and many have caused death. Many have caused serious injuries,” Gray said.

In April, Potter fatally shot Wright after he was stopped for an expired registration tag and because he had an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.

The shooting sparked protests days before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the murder of George Floyd.

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