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Officer charged over killing of black motorist

15 April 2021 02:17 (UTC +04:00)

A white police officer who shot dead a black motorist in Minnesota has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors say, APA reports citing BBC.

Officer Kim Potter has been arrested and will be held in custody.

Mrs Potter says she shot Daunte Wright accidentally, having mistakenly drawn her gun instead of her Taser.

Responding to the charges, the Wright family's lawyer Ben Crump said the killing was an "intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force".

Both Mrs Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon have quit the Brooklyn Center force. The killing has sparked three nights of clashes between police and protesters.

It happened in a suburb of Minneapolis, a city already on edge amid the trial of a white ex-police officer accused of murdering African American George Floyd.