| April 14, 2021 There’s a chance of rain and snow showers today, with highs in the upper 30s and mid-40s. Cloudy tonight as well, with lows in the upper 20s to mid-30s. On Thursday, we may see some sun, and the highs will creep up into the lower 50s in some parts of the state. Get the latest from Updraft. The Brooklyn Center police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright on Sunday will face 2nd degree manslaughter charges in his death.
Kim Potter was arrested and booked into Hennepin County jail around noon today.
Potter is the 26-year police veteran who was among the officers who pulled over Wright in a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon, and one of two officers seen struggling with him in body camera video of the incident. It shows her pulling out her gun, yelling the word Taser repeatedly and then firing a single shot that killed the 20-year-old Black man. Legal experts have told MPR News they believe the charge could carry a four year prison sentence, although a sentence would ultimately be up to a judge to determine. Wright's family has been urging authorities to consider a more serious murder charge against Potter.
Meanwhile, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a forensic pathologist testifying for the defense said that George Floyd died from a combination of pre-existing medical conditions, drug use and police restraint.
Dr. David Fowler provided the jury a very technical description of the effects of high blood pressure and narrowing of arteries. "So in my opinion. Mr. Floyd had a sudden cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac arrhythmia, due to his atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease," Fowler said. Other medical experts earlier testified that police officers’ restraint of Floyd caused low oxygen levels, which led to his death.
The Chauvin case could go to jury as early as next Monday. The latest data from the state health department shows a number of key indicators in the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota have been declining slightly. Among them: The daily average positivity rate for new tests and the number of active cases confirmed in the state have both begun to slow. Deaths are up slightly in the latest data, to 16 announced today, although the daily average is also down slightly. Vaccinations are also down slightly, and could be lower in days to come, thanks to a pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine suggested by the federal government earlier this week.
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