Minnesota AG’s Office to Lead Prosecution Against Former Brooklyn Center Officer in Daunte Wright’s Death

(KNSI) – The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is officially leading the prosecution against former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter.

Potter was charged in Washington County last month with second-degree manslaughter for the death of 20-year-old motorist Daunte Wright on April 11th. She was charged in Washington County because of an agreement between the county attorneys in the metro area that they not review or prosecute the cases involving the use of deadly force by police within their own jurisdictions.

Potter’s case was later moved back to Hennepin County. The county then requested that the state take the case.

The AG’s office says the review of charges and evidence against Potter is underway.

AG Keith Ellison said in a statement he did not seek this prosecution and it’s not one he accepts lightly.

“Prosecutors are ministers of justice,” Ellison said. “This means we must and will follow justice wherever it leads. I promise the Wright family and all Minnesotans that I will handle this prosecution responsibly and consistent with the law, and that I will be guided by the values of accountability and transparency. No one, however, should expect this case will be easy to prosecute. History shows that this case, like all cases of officer-involved deaths by deadly force, will be difficult.”

Assistant attorney general Matthew Frank will supervise Potter’s prosecution. Frank served as one of the attorneys in Derek Chauvin’s criminal trial.

“The Attorney General, the Washington County Attorney, and I are following the protocol the five urban county attorneys signed last summer, which includes asking the Attorney General to take police use of deadly force cases,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement. “The Potter case is now appropriately in the hands of the Attorney General.”

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