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Trials

Kim Potter trial over Daunte Wright's death kicks off Wednesday with opening statements

Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter for shooting, killing Daunte Wright

Stephanie Pagones By Stephanie Pagones Fox News
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MINNEAPOLIS – The manslaughter trial for former Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter is set to begin with opening statements on Wednesday, nearly eight months after the veteran cop shot and killed Daunte Wright while trying to arrest the young Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb. 

Potter, 49, had been an officer for 26 years and was working for the Brooklyn Center Police Department on April 11, 2021, when she and other officers, including a trainee, attempted to stop Wright and then tried to arrest him after learning of a warrant for his arrest. Wright, 20, can be seen in a police video climbing back into the driver’s seat of a vehicle as the officers scuffle with him. 

In Potter’s body camera video from the shooting, she can be heard yelling, "I’ll tase you!" and "Taser! Taser! Taser!" before firing her handgun.

KIM POTTER TRIAL: CHAUVIN, FLOYD CASES CAST SHADOW ON UPCOMING PROCEEDINGS OVER DAUNTE WRIGHT'S DEATH

Minnesota police release bodycam video in fatal Daunte Wright shooting Video

She can then be heard saying, "I grabbed the wrong f------ gun," followed by: "Holy s---, I just shot him."

Potter resigned from the police department just days later. She has been charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter.

MINNESOTA EX-POLICE OFFICER KIM POTTER TO TESTIFY AT TRIAL, HER ATTORNEY SAYS

Her attorneys have argued that she mistook the gun for a Taser when she pulled the trigger. 

According to sentencing guidelines for the state, a first-degree manslaughter conviction would mean more than seven years in prison, while second degree would mean four. But prosecutors have already indicated their plans to try for a longer sentence. 

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    FILE - This undated booking photo released by the Hennepin County, Minn., Sheriff shows Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer. (Hennepin County Sheriff via AP)

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    A security guard stands next to the cordoned off atrium, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis where jury selection begins for former suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter, who says she meant to grab her Taser instead of her handgun when she shot and killed motorist Daunte Wright. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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    In this screen grab from video, the prosecution, left, and the defense, right, are seen in court as Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu presides over jury selection Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter in the April 11, 2021, death of Daunte Wright, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.  (Court TV via AP, Pool)

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    Posters stand on the south lawn Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis where jury selection begins for former suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter, who says she meant to grab her Taser instead of her handgun when she shot and killed motorist Daunte Wright. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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    In this image from video, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Matthew Frank listens as Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu discusses jury instructions in court Monday Dec. 6, 2021, in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter in the April 11, 2021, death of Daunte Wright, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.  (Court TV, via AP, Pool)

KIM POTTER TRIAL: JURY INSTRUCTIONS SET IN CASE OF DAUNTE WRIGHT'S SHOOTING DEATH

Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu is presiding over the case in the same courtroom where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the death of George Floyd last April. 

And some of the same faces will be involved in the prosecution such as Assistant Attorneys General Matthew Frank and Erin Eldridge.

Potter's attorney has said she will take the stand in her own defense. 

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Fourteen jurors, including two alternates, were selected over the course of several days. Of the 12 lead jurors, 9 are White, two are Asian and one is Black. Both alternate jurors are also White. 

Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones.