Defense attorneys ask state to clarify charges in Daunte Wright shooting death

Attorneys for the former Brooklyn Center police officer charged with killing a Black driver during a traffic stop asked Monday that the Aug. 30 deadline for disclosing their expert witness list be suspended until prosecutors decide whether they plan to file additional charges.

Kimberly Potter, who is white, faces one count of second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, 20, on April 11.

The charge was filed by the Washington County Attorney's Office three days after Wright's death. The case was reassigned in May after calls from protesters, the ACLU and others that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison take over.

It's not known if the state will file additional charges, but Potter's attorneys said in a motion filed Monday that Ellison's office has suggested that more or different charges may be coming. Until the defense knows what charges Potter faces, it doesn't know who to call for expert testimony, defense attorney Paul Engh argued.

"By delaying its decision to amend, the State is, in practical effect, sandbagging the defense (and this Court)," Engh wrote.

Engh also wrote in the motion that the shooting was accidental, saying Potter believed she was holding a Taser when she shot Wright.

Wright was attempting to flee the police, Engh wrote, and Potter's mistake was "caused by Mr. Wright's decision to obviate an arrest warrant issued by the Hennepin County District Court."

Potter, who was arrested in April, was freed after posting a $100,000 bond. Her trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in Hennepin County District Court.

Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329