Kim Potter has been found guilty on both manslaughter charges over the shooting of Daunte Wright.
The former Minneapolis-area police officer shot and killed Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist.
Potter grabbed her gun instead of her Taser and pulled the trigger during an April 2021 traffic stop—resulting in his death.
She claims she made an ‘innocent mistake’ and mistook her firearm for her Taser when she shot the man dead.
Potter had pleaded not guilty, but after three-and-a-half days of deliberation the jury reached their decision to convict.
After the verdict was released, a powerful meme began circulating online that refers to three previous horrifying shootings by police officers - and compares the circumstances to those of Kim Potter.
The tweet read, “Kim Potter's training guide:”
Kim Potter's training guide: pic.twitter.com/HbwxWAymYy
— Pickles the Drummer (@TheBigG84) December 17, 2021
The incidents referenced in the image all have their own separate story, relating to police officers wrongly opening fire on suspects.
The first occurred when a Black man, Casey Goodson Jr., was shot by a deputy who mistook his sandwich for a gun. He was shot in front of two toddlers and his grandmother while inside his home.
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The second refers to the shooting of another Black man, Isaiah Brown, by a Virginia deputy who mistook a cordless house phone the man was holding for a gun. He was shot repeatedly and ended up in intensive care with 10 bullet wounds.
The third refers to the well-known tragic case of Trayvon Martin, who was shot to death by George Zimmerman who claimed he thought Martin’s pack of Skittles for a gun. He was only 17 years old.
In each of those instances, an officer mistook a non-deadly object for a gun. The grim irony of this case is that Potter mistook a deadly weapon for an item which is typically non-deadly.
The case was seen by many as a test of whether the justice system will hold police accused of excessive force accountable.
20 years as a police officer and don’t know the difference between taser and gun.💀💀💀 https://t.co/po7lcxoR61
— ❤️🔥6IG 9ASTY❤️🔥 (@kdd7696) December 21, 2021
