#Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright resigns

The Minnesota cop who shot and killed a black man after mistakenly grabbing her gun instead of her Taser resigned Tuesday, saying “it’s in the best interest of the community.”

“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability,” cop Kimberly Potter said in a statement, according to twincities.com.

“But I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” she wrote.

Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police force, had been placed on administrative leave following Sunday’s shooting death of Daunte Wright, 20, during an afternoon traffic stop.

Potter, 48, was identified Monday night by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

She acquired her Minnesota police officer’s license in 1995 at the age of 22 and began working for the Brooklyn Center Police Department shortly after, according to state records reviewed by the Star Tribune.

During her career, Potter has served on the department’s negotiation team, the newspaper reported.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Time Gannon said at a briefing Monday that Potter mistook her gun for a Taser — even though they’re worn on opposite sides of officers’ utility belt and vary greatly in weight.

Police bodycam footage of Wright’s death released Monday shows the officer yelling, “Taser! Taser!” as others struggled with Wright in his car.

“Holy, s–t,” Potter is heard saying on the video. “I just shot him!”

Wright speeds away in the vehicle but crashes further down the road, where he was pronounced dead. Police said his girlfriend was in the car and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Potter is married to a former police officer. She has two adult sons, according to the Tribune.

Wright’s shooting death led to the ouster of Brooklyn Center City Manager Curt Boganey on Monday, with Elliott telling reporters he would “continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of government.”

The City Council gave the mayor control of the police department.

The shooting came in the midst of the murder trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin in neighboring Minneapolis. Chauvin is charged in the death of George Floyd on May 25, about 10 miles from the scene of Wright’s shooting.

The latest incident has sparked two days of protests, looting, and clashes with police in Brooklyn Center, with more than 50 arrests.