MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she instead of her Taser when she fatally shot Black motorist went on trial on manslaughter charges Wednesday, with a prosecutor saying had been trained how to avoid such deadly mix-ups but still got it wrong.
Potter鈥檚 lawyer, though, argued that she made an error, saying, 鈥淧olice officers are human beings.鈥� And he cast blame on Wright, saying all the 20-year-old had to do that day was surrender.
Potter, 49, killed Wright, who wasn't armed, during a traffic stop April 11 in Brooklyn Center in a shooting that was The white officer resigned two days later.
Jurors saw video from officers' body cameras and the police car dashboard that showed Potter threatening to shoot Wright with a Taser as another officer tried to pull him out of his car. After she shot him with her gun, Potter can be heard saying 鈥淚 just shot him. ... I grabbed the wrong (expletive) gun!"
A car crash can be heard after Wright drives away and Potter 鈥� who defense attorney Paul Engh said had never fired her gun or Taser while on duty in her 26-year career 鈥� can be heard wailing uncontrollably afterward, 鈥淥h my God. Oh my God!鈥� before she crumples over.
Wright鈥檚 mother, Katie Bryant, testified about the moment she saw her son lying in his car after he'd been shot. She said she tried to contact him through a video call after losing an earlier phone connection, and a woman 鈥� presumably Wright's passenger 鈥� answered and screamed, 鈥淭hey shot him!鈥� and pointed the phone toward the driver鈥檚 seat.
"And my son was laying there. He was unresponsive and he looked dead,鈥� Bryant said through tears.
Video of the shooting was played repeatedly Wednesday. At one point, Potter wiped away tears, but rejected the offer of a tissue from her attorney.
A was seated last week in the case, which sparked angry demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Center police station last spring just as former Minneapolis Officer was on trial just 10 miles (16 kilometers) away for killing George Floyd.
Engh told jurors that Potter made a mistake when she grabbed the wrong weapon and shot Wright after he attempted to drive away while she and other officers were trying to arrest him.
The charges don鈥檛 require proof that Potter intended to kill Wright, and prosecutor Erin Eldridge noted as much for the jury.
But Engh also told jurors that Potter would have been justified in shooting Wright even if she had consciously chosen to draw her handgun, arguing that deadly force was warranted to protect her fellow officers. He said police had reason to believe that Wright might have a gun and that one of the officers had reached inside Wright鈥檚 car and was at risk of being dragged if Wright drove away.
In her opening statement, Eldridge told jurors that Potter violated her 鈥� including on the risks of firing the wrong weapon 鈥� and 鈥渂etrayed a 20-year-old kid.鈥�
鈥淭his is exactly what she had been trained for years to prevent,鈥� Eldridge said. 鈥淏ut on April 11, she betrayed her badge and she failed Daunte Wright.鈥�
Potter, who has told the court she will testify, was training a new officer for having expired license plate tags and .
The officer Potter was training that day, Anthony Luckey, testified that during the stop, he smelled marijuana and saw marijuana residue on the car's console. He also said Wright didn鈥檛 have a license and produced an expired proof of insurance that was under another person's name.
After discovering there was a warrant for Wright鈥檚 arrest on a weapons charge and a restraining order against Wright, Luckey said he was going to put Wright in handcuffs and check on the welfare of the woman in the car, and he asked Wright to get out.
But as Luckey tried to handcuff him, Wright struggled out of the officer's grip and got back into the car. Luckey said he was reaching into the car when he heard the gunshot, and that he then jumped back and saw Wright put the car in drive before it took off.
Prosecutors say Potter had extensive training, and it included an explicit warning about confusing a handgun with a Taser that also directed them 鈥渢o learn the differences between their Taser and firearm to avoid such confusion.鈥�
Eldridge told jurors that officers are required to carry their Taser on their non-dominant side and their firearm on their dominant side. Potter carried her gun on her right and her Taser on her left, where it was in a 鈥渟traight draw鈥� position to be drawn with that left hand.
鈥淭he only weapon she draws with her right hand is her gun, not her Taser,鈥� Eldridge said.
She said Potter violated several department policies, including one that says flight from an officer is not a good cause to use a Taser.
A jury of 14 people, including two white alternates, is hearing hear the case. Nine of the 12 jurors likely to deliberate are white, one is Black and two are Asian.
The most serious charge against Potter requires prosecutors to prove recklessness, while the lesser requires them to prove culpable negligence. Minnesota鈥檚 sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of just over seven years on the first-degree manslaughter count and four years on the second-degree one. Prosecutors have said they will seek a longer sentence.
A few dozen protesters gathered outside the courthouse Wednesday evening for a short march, with several family members and supporters of Black men killed by police 鈥� including George Floyd鈥檚 girlfriend, among others 鈥� calling for justice for Wright in the form of a conviction.
鈥淚f she was a woman of honor, she would have admitted her guilt and faced the consequences,鈥� Courteney Ross, Floyd鈥檚 girlfriend, said of Potter.
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This story removes a reference to Jacob Blake, who was wounded, not killed, by police.
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Associated Press writers Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, and Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis contributed.
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Find the AP鈥檚 full coverage of the Daunte Wright case:
Amy Forliti And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press