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First-degree manslaughter charge added against ex-cop who shot Daunte Wright
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Photo: Hennepin County Sheriff
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First-degree manslaughter charge added against ex-cop who shot Daunte Wright
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Kim Potter fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has upgraded the charges against the former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright.

According to multiple sources, former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter was previously charged with second-degree manslaughter, however, on Thursday (Sept. 2), prosecutors filed an amended complaint to add a charge of first-degree manslaughter. The amended complaint claims that the former officer caused Wright’s death “while committing the misdemeanor offense of reckless handling or use of a firearm so as to endanger the safety of another with such force and violence that death or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.”

In the complaint, Potter is accused of saying, “I’m going to prison. I shot a boy.” It also listed the ex-cop’s training. During her 26 years on the force, she received a “substantial amount” of education on how to know the difference between a taser and a handgun. Just six months before the deadly shooting, Potter completed two taser-specific training courses.

One of those courses was a four-hour instruction that provided information concerning the “function, proper use and safety concerns associated with users tasers.” A written test was given at the conclusion of the course and Potter received a certificate of completion, which she signed to confirm that she understood the information that was taught.

Back in April, Potter fatally shot 20-year-old Wright during a traffic stop. The young man was pulled over because he had an expired registration on his vehicle. Authorities discovered that there was an outstanding warrant for Wright and attempted to handcuff and arrest him, but he got back into his vehicle and reportedly tried to flee the scene.

Potter, who is a former president of the union, deployed her firearm and shot Wright in the chest. She said that she meant to shoot her taser instead of her gun. Her trial is set to begin on Dec. 6.

Check out the full amended complaint below.