Fencing, concrete barriers, and 24-hour video surveillance have been installed around the home of Kim Potter, the officer who shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright
. The security measures have surprised some of Potter’s neighbors.“I thought, ‘What in the world happened now?'” a woman who lives in the neighborhood told KSTP. “I walked down the street and I saw the fence and the barricade and I thought oh this is where she lives.”
According to KTSP, some residents are now on edge about the potential for protesters to come to the neighborhood now that her address is public.
Potter, who is being held without bond is currently facing second-degree murder charges for the shooting death of Wright. According to body camera footage Potter alleges she meant to shoot Wright with a taser and not her service weapon. Potter was with the police force for more than 20 years and also served as a police union president.
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Former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon backed Potter’s claim Monday at a press conference.
“This was an accidental discharge,” Gannon said Monday. He resigned the next day.
However, many, including Wright’s family and attorney do not believe the shooting was a mistake. Even conservative pundit and “pro-police” televangelist Pat Robertson couldn’t believe that a cop could mistake a gun for a taser.
The shooting was the third incident in the last five years of a Black man dying due to the actions of a police officer. Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial for the death of George Floyd last summer, which sparked a resurgence in Black Lives Matter protests. Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Minneapolis officer in 2016.
Wright’s death set off a week of fighting between residents and police. More than 40 people were arrested Monday and more than 60 people were arrested Tuesday as protests turned violent against police as protestors threw bricks, rocks, and shot fireworks at police.
Potter is facing 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.