A mostly white jury is seated in Kim Potter trial in Daunte Wright death Potter, a white former police officer, says she drew her gun by mistake when she fatally shot Wright, a Black motorist. Of the first 12 jurors seated, one identifies as Black and two as Asian.

Kim Potter's trial in Daunte Wright's death will have a mostly white jury

Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer, has said she meant to use a Taser instead of a handgun when she shot and killed Daunte Wright on April 11. Hennepin County Sheriff via AP hide caption

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Hennepin County Sheriff via AP


Hennepin County Sheriff via AP

MINNEAPOLIS — A mostly white jury was seated Friday for the trial of a white suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she drew her handgun by mistake when she fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright following a traffic stop.

Nine of the first 12 jurors seated for Kim Potter's trial are white — roughly in line with the demographics of surrounding Hennepin County, but notably less diverse than the jury that convicted former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin this spring in the death of George Floyd.


Diverse juries are key to minimizing bias, legal experts say


The Chauvin jury that was split 50-50 between whites and people of color was "mostly just luck of the draw," said Ted Sampsell-Jones, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul.


"It might be true in general that Black people are more distrustful of police than white people, but it isn't true as to every individual," Sampsell-Jones said. "Lots of young white people in Hennepin County are far more progressive and anti-cop than some older Black people, for example."





Potential jurors were asked about their views of protests against police



Juror No. 11, for example, said she "somewhat agreed" that officers should not be second-guessed.

"I think sometimes you just react, and sometimes it might be a wrong reaction, but, you know, mistakes happen," she said. "People make mistakes."


Several jurors strongly disagreed that it's unreasonable to question officers' actions. Juror No. 19, the only Black person on the jury, wondered how Potter could show such a "lapse in judgment" with her experience.

"This is a servitude job, and when you get into this position, you need to understand that it's a tough job and so you have to maintain that level of professionalism when you get into that position," she said of police officers in general.

Potter has said she will testify at her trial

Potter, who resigned two days after Wright's death, has told the court she will testify. Body-camera video recorded the shooting, with Potter heard saying, "Taser, Taser, Taser" before she fired, followed by, "I grabbed the wrong (expletive) gun."

Wright, 20, was shot as Chauvin was standing trial 10 miles (16 kilometers) away for killing Floyd. Wright's death sparked several nights of intense protests in the suburb.

The most serious charge against Potter requires prosecutors to prove recklessness; the lesser only requires them to prove culpable negligence. Minnesota's sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of just over seven years on the first-degree manslaughter count and four years on the second-degree one. Prosecutors have said they would seek a longer sentence.