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A Minnesota judge ruled Monday that a trial for Kimberly Potter, the former police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April, can proceed.
Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu said Monday there was probable cause for Potter’s second-degree manslaughter charge to continue and set a tentative start date for the trial in December.
Potter, a 26-year-veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, resigned and was charged in short order in April after shooting Wright, 20, during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb.
A former Minnesota police officer charged with killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop will stand trial at the end of the year, a judge ruled Monday.
Potter is expected to plead not guilty, but has yet to formally enter a plea.
Potter was one of several officers attempting to arrest Wright during an early April traffic stop. Officials said Potter had intended to stun the man with her Taser gun to subdue him but accidentally drew her handgun instead and fired once, hitting Wright in the chest.
Wright s family attorney disputes that the shooting was accidental, arguing that Potter, a 26-year police veteran, would have been able to feel the difference between the Taser and her 9 mm service handgun.
Police have said Wright was pulled over for expired tags, but they sought to arrest him after discovering an outstanding warrant. The warrant was for his failure to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and had a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.