Homicide, Murder, Manslaughter Potter Trial

[mightymoose]

Jurisdiction

Minnesota

So the Potter trial began regarding the killing of Duante Wright.
I am immediately puzzled by the defense as to whether they think they can really achieve a not guilty verdict or if the true goal is just to minimize the inevitable consequences.
"I didn't know it was my gun" is such a hard claim to accept, especially from someone who carries one daily. The taser is drawn differently, feels differently, and functions differently.
I dont think her regret following her moment of panic is going to spare her anything. It stinks that a good person has to go through this all because Wright wanted to behave like an idiot :\

 

[army judge]

I am immediately puzzled by the defense as to whether they think they can really achieve a not guilty verdict or if the true goal is just to minimize the inevitable consequences.
"I didn't know it was my gun" is such a hard claim to accept, especially from someone who carries one daily.

It puzzles me, too, my friend.

The officer was, if I recall correctly, a 26 year veteran police officer.
She was a designated "training officer", too.
On that fateful day, her police trainee made the stop and initial contact with the soon to be decedent.

Trials can be very quirky, as can juries.

It'll take some time to reach the conclusion, but the defense can only work with evidence available to them.

This particular defendant is sullied, and it will make a difficult task that much harder.

"I didn't know it was my gun" is such a hard claim to accept, especially from someone who carries one daily. The taser is drawn differently, feels differently, and functions differently.
I dont think her regret following her moment of panic is going to spare her anything.

I couldn't agree more.
A criminal defense attorney is the most difficult job that an attorney can do.
You very often have to work with a person you might normally avoid.
Trying to humanize some defendants is impossible.
Anyway, we'll have to see what kind of flour the grist mill of justice creates.

 

[mightymoose]

I was troubled even more after seeing the bodycam video. She is holding the gun for what, to me, seems like an eternity before she fires.

I don't doubt that she did not intend to shoot and kill him, but I just don't understand how she did not recognize she had not drawn her taser.

It reminds me of a training scenario I was involved in years ago. The officer watches a video and makes decisions about the use of force while the administrator inputs information that determines how the suspect in the video reacts to the officer.

In short, i was drawn into a use of force scenario and naturally drew my firearm based on what was occurring, however the scenario quickly changed and in that split second where I had to make a decision I fired. Unfortunately, the situation changed in such a way that deadly force was really no longer justifiable, but I had used it simply because my gun was in my hand in that moment.

It was a real eye opener for me as to when to draw a weapon, and which one to draw. It is so easy to pull the firearm instinctively, but we have various other options at the ready

Unfortunately in this scenario there was never anything that would have justified deadly force, which begs the question of why the firearm was drawn to begin with.

I think she panicked. In that moment all her training went out the window and she will unfortunately suffer the consequence.

 

[army judge]

I think she panicked. In that moment all her training went out the window and she will unfortunately suffer the consequence.

Probably the most reasonable answer.

I've seen experienced combat soldiers freeze at times.
I've also seen soldiers overreact out of fear or weariness.

There is no right answer, as each situation is different.

The consequences in combat aren't as nearly as devastating as they are for a law enforcement officer, if a mistake is made.

Fear can cause reasonable people to do really dumb things.

I saw fear in her actions, fear which drove her to do a very dumb thing.

 

[Redemptionman]

I think her defense from what I have seen and heard deals with the subject was a felon. He resisted arrest and hopped back into his car which then becomes a weapon. The defense is hoping for a not guilt based upon the deadly weapon theory, if that doesn't work then they are like you said trying to minimize prison time. Either way that is a 26 year career down the tubes and two lives ruined.

 

[flyingron]

It's hard to believe, but this has not been the first time that it has happened. There have been at least three other cases that I am aware of. THere was the Oscar Grant/Johannes Mehserle shooting in Calfiornia. That one was even more egregiously awful, because there was no doubt that the whole encounter was racially motivated on the officer's part.

There was an earlier case in California (Santa Monica?) where a female officer shot a detained man in the back of a police car. He was kicking the door or something and she sought to tase him (again, an arguably bad idea) and shot him dead instead.

There was another case (Texas?) where a non-officer on a ride along shot a man thinking he was tasing him. A recent article in the times show at least three other incidents (Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma).

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

One fix to this ongoing problem would be to change the form factor of the taser from a pistol grip to more like Star Trek TNG's phaser.

There is no reason to have a pistol grip on a Taser as there isn't an ammo magazine required and batteries have gotten much better so you don't really need the grip space for a battery anymore if they ever had the battery in the grip.

 

[Redemptionman]

That one was even more egregiously awful, because there was no doubt that the whole encounter was racially motivated on the officer's part.

Be careful with that one, since it is not reported. A larger amount and percentage of unarmed white people are killed by police than minorities. Police people are men and women who have their own biases. They bring these in with them to the job and it doesn't just apply to one race or another. A racist with a badge is still a racist whether they are pink, blue, green or whatever color they identify with.

People shot to death by U.S. police, by race 2021 | Statista

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

People shot to death by U.S. police, by race 2021 | Statista

Did you notice how the number of "unknown race" shot up in 2021? This seems to coincide with something else I've noticed in news stories both print and electronic. They seem to be reporting race a lot less lately.

 

[flyingron]

The other thing is to stop using tasers as a casual thing to "punish" allegedly "non-compliant" suspects with. Even tasers can be lethal in situations. Their use should be restricted to times when no other option is available.

 

[army judge]

The other thing is to stop using tasers as a casual thing to "punish" allegedly "non-compliant" suspects with. Even tasers can be lethal in situations. Their use should be restricted to times when no other option is available.

Tasers were sold by convincing purchasing agents and bureaucrats that their use was less lethal than a firearm, or chemical agents.

As anyone could observe, that fairy tale (as are all fairy tales and fables) was not entirely true.

I was never an advocate of tasers, precisely because of the less lethal lie to which you alluded.

 

[flyingron]

Even if they were 100% guaranteed to be safe, the use that many officers use is inhumane and likely unconstitutional if they were subject to any real scrutiny. Tasers just make the random overuse of force more palatable and hence encourages it.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I'd have to say there are exactly ZERO less than lethal weapons that are 100% not capable of killing someone given the right set of circumstances.

I'd also agree that using them as punishment should be and really is already illegal. That said this was not a case of such use. The now-dead guy needed to be subdued.

 

[flyingron]

I'd also agree that using them as punishment should be and really is already illegal. That said this was not a case of such use. The now-dead guy needed to be subdued.

He was already cuffed and in the process of being crammed in the back of the police car. There were at least two officers there to handle that.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

He was already cuffed and in the process of being crammed in the back of the police car. There were at least two officers there to handle that.

NOT TRUE. He was not yet handcuffed and back in his own car at the time of the shooting.

 

[Zigner]

NOT TRUE. He was not yet handcuffed and back in his own car at the time of the shooting.

Based on the video (that is said in the newscast to be "never before seen"), I think even a manslaughter conviction is going to be very difficult.

 

[mightymoose]

Tasers just make the random overuse of force more palatable and hence encourages it.

Policy regarding the use of tasers surely varies by jurisdiction, but I have never known them to be used randomly.
Standard training defines them as an intermediate use of force and highlights the potential for serious injuries or death.
Tasers are used to overcome active resistance when lethal force is not necessary. It can also be used as a pain compliance- most frequently when struggling with someone to get them into cuffs.
Any use of force typically requires documentation of justification for its use, which for many, including myself, discourages its use. If the taser is equipped with a camera sometimes that justification is clearly captured and reviewable.
Surely there are scenarios where an officer didnt adhere to that training, but they are not common.

 

[mightymoose]

That said this was not a case of such use. The now-dead guy needed to be subdued.

Agreed. There use of a taser in the Duante Wright scenario was very justifiable.
However, the taser was not likely to be effective given Wright's position and the close proximity to him. Had it been deployed, the darts would have been very close together on the left side of his body and not spread in a way that would incapacitate him. It would have briefly caused pain and he still would have been able to drive away.
The trainee blew it- first by leaving the door open, then by losing control and allowing Wright back in the car. With a good control hold he should have been able to plant Wright's face in the pavement as soon as he struggled.

 

[mightymoose]

Based on the video (that is said in the newscast to be "never before seen"), I think even a manslaughter conviction is going to be very difficult.

That will ultimately depend in whether the jury believes Potter was reckless/negligent.

She drew the firearm from a different holster that is operated differently than the taser. The taser is typically worn in a cross draw manner to prevent drawing the wrong weapon. Potter also never activated the taser's power switch. She never saw a laser to aim the darts (which can be deactivated but usually is not). She failed to recognize a significant difference in weight and shape of the grip, and certainly failed to recognize the different color.
Granted, it all happened quickly, but she made a lot of mistakes.

It is unfortunate that someone else's misbehavior can leave an officer in such a predicament.

There is always the chance that despite the evidence the jury simply refuses to convict, but given the timing of this incident and the climate in that area I doubt it.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Based on the video (that is said in the newscast to be "never before seen"), I think even a manslaughter conviction is going to be very difficult.

I don't get where they say that video has never been seen before. Here it is from 7 months ago.