Ex-Minnesota cop Kim Potter has been charged with manslaughter over the shooting of Daunte Wright.
Per BBC News, according to Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the 48-year-old former police officer was taken into custody on the morning of Wednesday, April 14.
She was charged with second-degree manslaughter and later released from the Hennepin County Jail on a $100,000 (£72,000) bail.
If found guilty, the 26-year veteran cop faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
According to bodycam footage taken at the time of the shooting incident, 20-year-old Wright was pulled over while driving for an expired tag on his car's license plate on Sunday, April 11.
When officers informed Wright that he was being arrested for an outstanding warrant, a scuffle ensued and Wright reentered the vehicle. Potter allegedly mistook her firearm for her taser, drew her pistol, and opened fire, fatally wounding him.
In the footage, Potter can then be heard saying: "taser, taser, taser" before exclaiming: "Holy s***! I just shot him!"
CNN reports Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott confirmed in a press conference that Potter had resigned from the force, although he clarified that he had not officially accepted her resignation while the investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, in a briefing on Monday, April 12, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon stated:
"There's nothing I can say to lessen the pain. Our hearts are aching right now, we are in pain right now. We recognize this couldn't have happened at a worse time.
"This is happening at a time that all of our community, all of America, indeed, all of the world, is watching."
Indeed, the shooting was all the more galling to outraged members of the Black community, as it took place in the midst of the ongoing trial against former cop Derek Chauvin, who faces murder charges over the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Earlier this week, Black Lives Matter activists gathered outside the local police headquarters to protest Wright's death, defying a curfew imposed by Mayor Elliot.
Riot police were deployed to the scene after Minneapolis and the neighboring town of St Paul both declared states of emergencies. After the protestors refused to disperse, cops deployed tear gas and stun grenades to break up the crowds.
Per BBC News, Mayor Elliot appealed for peaceful protests, stating: "With the news of the decision to charge the former Brooklyn Center police officer with manslaughter comes a prolonged period of continued grieving, hurt and understandable anger.
"Our task as a city, and as a leadership, is to allow for the expression of those very legitimate voices and to also create a pathway forward toward healing and renewal of our stability and strength as a community."
Potter is due to make her first court appearance on Thursday.
