United States: policewoman convicted of manslaughter of young black driver

Daunte Wright, 20, was killed during a traffic stop in April in suburban Minneapolis.

An American policewoman who killed a young African-American driver during a traffic stop in April in the suburbs of Minneapolis was convicted Thursday, December 23, of manslaughter. Kim Potter, 49 , has always claimed to have believed she drew her electric Taser gun when she actually pulled out her service weapon and shot Daunte Wright, 20, who was resisting arrest in Brooklyn Center in the upstates. -United.

The jury found her guilty of manslaughter after three days of deliberations in a court in Minneapolis, where this drama had reopened the wounds of the murder of George Floyd . "Her remorse and regret for this incident is overwhelming," her lawyer Paul Engh said after the verdict, asking the judge to release her on bail. "She is in no way a danger to the public," he said. The former policewoman faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison in total and is expected to be determined in February.

In a statement sent to the American media, the family of the victim said they were "relieved" that "accounts have been made for this absurd death" . The day of Daunte Wright's death "will remain a trauma for her family and a further example for America of why we desperately need to change policing practices," wrote her relatives. "Accountability is not justice" , however qualified at the exit of the hearing the Attorney General of the State of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a Democrat. “Justice would be to bring Daunte back to life and make the Wright family whole again. Justice is out of the question.