Jury to hear opening statements in Potter case this week

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Opening statements loom this week for a white former Minnesota police officer who said she drew her handgun by mistake when she fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright. But first the two sides will meet with the judge to finalize jury instructions that can be contentious. Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday. A mostly white jury will hear the case of Kim Potter. She’s charged with manslaughter in Wright’s death in April in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Nine of the 12 jurors likely to deliberate are white, one is Black and two are Asian. That’s in line with the demographics of the county where the shooting happened.