The police officer who fired the shot that killed a 20-year-old man Sunday in Brooklyn Center is a 26-year veteran of the force, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said Monday night.
Officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center is identified as 26-year veteran
She got her police license in 1995 at age 22, according to state records.
April 13, 2021 at 3:19PM
The BCA said Kimberly A. Potter is on standard administrative leave. Potter, 48, was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records.
Among her duties during her tenure with the Brooklyn Center Police Department has been serving on the force's negotiation team.
In a previous fatal shooting of a man in the Minneapolis suburb in August 2019, Potter was among the first to arrive at the scene where Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife inside a home.
Potter instructed the two officers involved to "exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other," according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. Both officers' actions were found to be justified, and no charges were filed.
She is married, has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb.
Contact information for Potter was not immediately available. Messages left for Potter and her family were not immediately returned. Criminal defense lawyer Earl Gray will be handling her case.
Potter has been a union president for her department's officers and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association, where she served on the "casket team."
Brian Peters, head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said Potter was working Sunday as a field training officer, training a new officer.
"She's just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It's completely devastating," he said. "She [is] just a good person, always willing to help out."
Staff writer Reid Forgrave contributed to this report.
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