The Minnesota police officer, who fatally shot Daunte Wright on Sunday afternoon, has been identified as Kimberly Potter, 48.
On Tuesday, Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon have issued resignation letters in the wake of the deadly shooting, which has led to fiery and chaotic protests.
Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was killed on Sunday after being pulled over for a traffic violation.
After realizing there was a warrant for his arrest, police officers attempted to take him into custody.
Cameras worn by police officers at the scene showed Wright getting out of his car before getting back into the vehicle and trying to drive away.
According to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, he was then shot by Kimberly Potter, who reportedly believed her gun was a taser.
Wright crashed his car further down the road, and although emergency services tried to revive him, he was sadly pronounced dead shortly after.
Kimberly Potter, who had been working for Brooklyn Center Police Department since 1995, could reportedly be heard on bodycam footage saying, “Holy s**t, I shot him.”
Before this, somebody was heard shouting “taser, taser” as officers were involved in a physical altercation with Wright inside his car as they tried to arrest him.
Potter acquired her police officer’s license 26 years ago when she was just 22 years old.
She was facing increasing calls for her to be removed from the police force after being placed on administrative leave on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott joined the calls for Kimberly Potter to resign, saying that if a person is killed in any other job, they are fired at the very least.
Officer Kimberly Potter heard the calls and penned the following letter announcing she was leaving: “I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.”
The family of Daunte Wright has spoken out following his death, with his father, Aubrey Wright, saying that he cannot accept his son died as the result of a “mistake.”
Daunte Wright’s father appeared on ABC where he said: “I lost my son, and he’s never coming back. I can’t accept that — a mistake, that doesn’t even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I can’t accept that.”
Katie Wright wept as she spoke about the last telephone conversation she had with her son during the deadly shooting.
She shared: “Daunte said, ‘For what, am I in trouble?’ I heard the phone getting put down pretty hard. And then I heard scuffling, and the girl that was with him screaming, and I heard an officer ask for them to hang up the phone, and then I didn’t hear anything else.”
With tears running down her eyes, the mother added: “I tried to call back three, four times and the girl that was with him answered the phone, and she said that they shot him and he was lying in the driver’s seat unresponsive. And then I heard an officer ask her to hang up the phone again and then after that, that’s the last time I’ve seen my son. I haven’t seen him since.”
His aunt, Naisha, has said that even if the gun was mistaken for a taser, Potter should go to jail for not knowing the difference and causing death as a result.
The death of Daunte Wright has sparked demonstrations all across America.
