Sergeant was holding Daunte Wright's arm before shooting

2 years ago 317

MINNEAPOLIS – A constabulary sergeant who was astatine the country erstwhile Daunte Wright was changeable testified Friday that helium was holding Wright's close limb with some hands successful an effort to handcuff him successful the moments earlier helium was shot.

Mychal Johnson, who was a patrol sergeant successful the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center astatine the clip of Wright’s killing, took the basal Friday arsenic prosecutors resumed their lawsuit successful the manslaughter proceedings of erstwhile constabulary serviceman Kim Potter, who says she mistakenly fired her weapon alternatively of her Taser.

Johnson, who is present a large successful the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office, testified that helium opened the passenger-side doorway aft Wright started to propulsion distant from different officer, leaned into the car, pushed the displacement knob guardant to marque definite it was successful parkland and reached for the keys to effort to crook disconnected the vehicle.

He said helium past grabbed Wright’s close limb with some hands to forestall him from putting the car successful thrust and to handcuff him. Johnson said that astatine the time, helium couldn’t spot the different officer, Anthony Luckey, and helium didn’t cognize what Potter was doing.

Body camera footage shows that arsenic Potter yelled “Taser, Taser, Taser!” Johnson was utilizing some of his hands to clasp Wright’s manus and arm.

Johnson testified that helium heard the Taser bid followed by a “loud pop,” which helium initially thought was a Taser. It was hard to archer from the video whether Johnson was inactive reaching into the car erstwhile the changeable was fired.

Potter, 49, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter successful the April 11 shooting of Wright, who was pulled implicit for having expired licence tags and an aerial freshener hanging from his mirror. Potter, who discontinue the Brooklyn Center constabulary unit 2 days aft his death, has said she meant to usage her Taser connected Wright.

Potter is white. Wright, 20, was Black. The shooting acceptable disconnected days of protests and clashes with instrumentality enforcement successful Brooklyn Center conscionable arsenic erstwhile Minneapolis constabulary serviceman Derek Chauvin was lasting proceedings adjacent successful George Floyd’s death.

Prosecutors accidental Potter was a seasoned serviceman who violated her training. Defense attorneys accidental Potter made a mistake but would person been justified successful shooting Wright if she’d consciously chosen to due to the fact that different officers, including Johnson, mightiness person been dragged if Wright drove away.

Video shows Johnson trying to comfortableness Potter aft the shooting, arsenic she was connected the ground, crying and rocking with her caput successful her hands.

“Kim, instrumentality a breath. Kim, you’re OK,” helium told Potter. He besides said: “Kim, that feline was trying to instrumentality disconnected with maine successful the car.”

On Thursday, prosecutors played extended video of the aftermath, showing jurors images of officers pulling him from his car and attempting lifesaving measures.

Wright’s rider and girlfriend, Alayna Albrecht-Payton, testified that Wright “was conscionable gasping” aft helium was changeable and described her panic.

“I grabbed, like, immoderate was successful the car. I don’t retrieve if it was a sweater oregon a towel oregon a broad oregon thing … and enactment it connected his thorax like, similar you know, you spot successful movies and TV shows,” said Albrecht-Payton, who said she began her narration with Wright conscionable weeks earlier helium died. “I didn’t cognize what to do.”

Albrecht-Payton besides apologized to Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant, who had called his telephone trying to reestablish interaction aft a telephone with him was chopped disconnected close earlier helium was shot. Bryant testified tearfully a time earlier that she archetypal saw her son’s seemingly lifeless assemblage via that video call.

“I pointed the camera connected him,” Albrecht-Payton said. “And I’m truthful atrocious I did that.”

A watercourse of constabulary officers and exigency aesculapian workers followed Albrecht-Payton to the basal connected Thursday, yet prompting Potter lawyer Paul Engh to question a mistrial connected the grounds that the authorities was presenting grounds irrelevant to her guilt oregon innocence, and alternatively was showing grounds consisting of “sordid pictures and prejudicial impact.”

Prosecutor Matthew Frank pointed retired that the authorities is seeking an aggravated condemnation for Potter if she’s convicted, and that to bash so, it indispensable amusement the wider interaction of her actions. Judge Regina Chu rapidly dismissed the motion, though she did archer prosecutors to debar showing the assemblage duplicate autopsy pictures.

Body-camera video showed Wright pulling distant from officers and getting backmost successful his car arsenic they tried to apprehension him connected an outstanding warrant. After helium was shot, the car drove down the thoroughfare and crashed into different vehicle.

The collision was captured by Officer Alan Salvosa's constabulary car dashcam, which was down the car erstwhile Wright’s conveyance struck it.

Salvosa’s assemblage camera showed him calling for assistance arsenic helium drew his limb and repeatedly ordered “Put your hands up!” to the occupants of Wright’s car. The rider — Albrecht-Payton — is heard saying “I can’t.” Salvosa testified that helium couldn't spot into the rear of the car, which helium knew had conscionable near a determination wherever officers were seeking to marque an arrest.

As Salvosa waited for backup and ambulances, astir 8 1/2 minutes passed from the infinitesimal of the clang earlier officers moved successful to statesman trying to assistance Wright. Testimony and body-camera footage showed that officers weren’t definite what they were dealing with and took clip to attack the car safely.

Prosecutors besides called the woman and the girl of a antheral who was successful the car struck by Wright’s to attest astir the toll the clang took connected the man’s health. Denise Lundgren Wells testified that her father, Kenneth Lundgren, had wellness issues earlier the clang but that his diminution accelerated afterward. He is present successful his 80s and successful hospice care, she testified.

Frank, the prosecutor, said the post-shooting grounds is aimed astatine showing that Potter's actions created a information to others beyond Wright — thing the authorities volition person to beryllium arsenic it seeks a longer condemnation for Potter than is called for nether the state's guidelines.

Chu ruled that the authorities indispensable destruct duplicate autopsy photos, and that immoderate images of Wright with his eyes unfastened indispensable beryllium blacked retired supra the nose.

“The assemblage is not expected to beryllium deciding this lawsuit based upon sympathy, passionateness oregon thing of that sort,” she said.

The lawsuit is being heard by a mostly achromatic jury.

First-degree manslaughter requires prosecutors to beryllium Potter acted recklessly. Second-degree requires them to beryllium culpable negligence. Neither complaint requires impervious that she intended to kill. State sentencing guidelines telephone for conscionable implicit 7 years successful situation connected the archetypal complaint and 4 years connected the other.

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Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.

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Find the AP’s afloat sum of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright

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