Testimony: Daunte Wright Did Not Reach for a Gun
Charles Davis Insider
Brooklyn Center Officer Anthony Luckey testifies on the opening day of the trial for ex-cop Kimberly Potter. (photo: AP) Testimony: Daunte Wright Did Not Reach for a Gun
Charles Davis InsiderThe testimony came on the opening day of Potter's trial. The former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer is facing charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter for killing Wright, a Black man, after saying she mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of a Taser during a traffic stop. She was terminated from the force following the shooting.
In April 2021, officers pulled Wright over and during the traffic stop discovered he had an outstanding arrest warrant for a weapons charge. According to body camera footage of the stop, while trying to detain him, Wright breaks free and gets into his car. The word "Taser" is repeated before Wright is shot.
Officer Luckey testified that he was the one who decided to pull over Wright. During cross-examination, he testified that he had an "intuition" to pull him over because of "the behavior of the vehicle," including that it had its right-blinker on while in a left turning lane, and the fact he was driving in a "high crime area" that is "known for a lot of shootings."
In response to a question from Matthew Frank, the assistant Minnesota attorney general who also led the prosecution of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin, Luckey affirmed that Wright never reached for a weapon, never struck him, and that neither Wright nor the woman in the passenger seat made any threatening moves.
That admission came after the defense sought to portray Potter's decision to reach for a weapon as a justifiable attempt to protect her fellow cops' safety and prevent Wright from potentially injuring them in an attempt to flee the scene in his vehicle.
The trial resumes Thursday.