Closing summary
Today has seen many developments in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial and the case against Kim Potter, a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer charged with second degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of motorist Daunte Wright on Sunday.
Here are several key events from court proceedings and statements from Wright’s family:
- During a press conference, Wright’s family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump spoke about Potter’s arrest and the second degree manslaughter charge. “There’s never going to be justice for us,” said Katie Wright, his mother. “Justice isn’t even a word to me.” Nyesha Wright, Daunte’s aunt, commented: “I want everybody to sit here and imagine you having to bury your child – that somebody just murdered.” She continued: “Justice, what is justice? Do we get to see Daunte smile? We don’t get to see that. Do we get to hear Daunte joke again? We don’t get to hear that.”
- Potter appeared in court for the first time in her manslaughter case. The proceedings were brief, lasting a mere four minutes. She is due back in court on 17 May, according to reports.
- Both the prosecution and defense rested in Chauvin’s trial. Court will not convene tomorrow. Closing arguments start on Monday.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading our live coverage of the Chauvin trial and Kim Potter case this week.
Updated
Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer facing a second degree manslaughter charge in the killing of Daunte Wright, has just made her initial court appearance.
Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter made her initial appearance in Hennepin County court just now. She appeared via zoom.
— Chris Hrapsky (@ChrisHrapsky) April 15, 2021
When asked if the address on the criminal complaint is correct, Earl Gray, her attorney, smirked at Potter and said "unfortunately, yes."
According to New York Daily News, Potter appeared before a judge via Zoom for just four minutes. Potter’s lawyer waived the reading of her criminal complaint, bringing the proceeding to a swift end.
Potter’s next court date is scheduled for 17 May, the News reported.
Updated
Destiny Wright, Daunte Wright’s 14-year-old sister, has described her brother as “the most delightful person I’ve ever met” during a press conference with relatives and the civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Daunte was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop on Sunday. Potter, who has since resigned, is charged with second degree manslaughter in his death.
“He was everything, everything. His smile, his jokes,” Destiny says. “And she took that from us. And I’m very disappointed. Very disappointed.”
“My son was a good young man he was a young man in the making,” Daunte’s father, Aubrey Wright, has said at the press conference.
“We were building my son up,” he says. “He was going to be somebody.”
“He was a good kid,” he recalls, later saying,“My son was very much loved. I loved him a lot.”
“The way he was killed, he did not deserve that.”
Daunte’s funeral will be held in one week.
Daunte Wright's funeral will be Thursday at 12 p.m. CT at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 15, 2021
Rev Al Sharpton will deliver Wright's eulogy as Sharpton has done for so many other black men killed by police.
Potter is expected to make her first court appearance soon.
Updated
'Justice isn't even a word to me'
Katie Wright, whose son, Daunte Wright, was killed by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Sunday during a traffic stop, has said: “There’s never going to be justice for us”.
“Justice isn’t even a word to me,” Katie has just said at a press conference where Daunte’s family, and their attorneys, are demanding accountability.
Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by former police officer Kim Potter; she is now charged with second degree manslaughter in his death, officials say.
Potter’s former chief has claimed that she meant to use her Taser, not her gun, when she fatally shot Daunte, her former chief has said.
“I do want accountability, 100 percent accountability … the highest accountability, but even when that happens, if that even happens, we’re still going to bury our son,” she says.
“We’re still never going to be able to see our baby boy.”
Nyesha Wright, Daunte’s aunt, has said: “I want everybody to sit here and imagine you having to bury your child – that somebody just murdered.”
“Justice, what is justice? Do we get to see Daunte smile?” she says. “We don’t get to see that. Do we get to hear Daunte joke again? We don’t get to hear that.”
“The highest accountability, I know the highest is going to be being judged by God. But can we get a conviction? Can we get something? Manslaughter?” she also says.
Nyesha then holds up photos of a Taser and a Glock handgun in each of her hands.
“You all see the difference. This is a Taser,” she says. “But no, my nephew was killed with this: a Glock.”
Updated
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and relatives of Daunte Wright, who was killed by a suburban Minneapolis police officer during a traffic stop Sunday, have convened for their press conference this afternoon.
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was arrested Wednesday on a second degree manslaughter charge in Wright’s death. Potter fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, charging papers state. She was later released on $100,000 bond. Potter is poised to appear in court at 1:30 pm local time.
Crump, who is now speaking, has said of the charge against Potter: “We are making progress” and praised activists for demanding justice.
“You’re making a difference and Minneapolis right here and now, is ground zero for that change,” he says.
WATCH LIVE: Attorney Ben Crump and the family of Daunte Wright are holding a press conference. https://t.co/sBynOnZt4y https://t.co/TH5eKubKvX
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 15, 2021
The Brooklyn Center police department’s chief has said that Potter meant to use her Taser on Wright, but used her gun instead. Both he and Potter resigned from the department on Tuesday.
It has emerged that Potter is represented by attorney Earl Gray; he also represents Thomas Lane, an ex-Minneapolis police officer now charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
Summary
While we await developments in the criminal case of Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota former police officer charged with second degree manslaughter in Daunte Wright’s death, here is a recap of today’s proceedings in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial:
- Chauvin decided not to testify in his defense, invoking his fifth amendment right against self- incrimination.
- Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, said the defense rests.
- The prosecution called one rebuttal witness, Dr. Martin Tobin, to testify. Tobin, a pulmonologist, had previously testified for the prosecution. Prosecutors brought him back to address a defense witness’s claim Wednesday that George Floyd might have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from a police vehicle tail pipe while subdued on the ground. This defense witness, forensic pathologist Dr David Fowler, said carbon monoxide poisoning might have contributed to Floyd’s death.
- Prosecutors’ decision to recall Tobin was preceded by debate. They told the court that the county medical examiner had uncovered test results involving Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels following Fowler’s testimony. As these results were just uncovered, the defense didn’t see them until shortly before today’s proceedings.
- Judge Peter Cahill did not allow prosecutors to bring up this evidence during their questioning of Tobin, since it came to the defense so late. They were allowed to ask him about other information that spoke to Floyd’s possible carbon monoxide levels.
- The prosecution has rested.
- Cahill told jurors to return Monday for closing arguments.
Updated
As prosecutors and Derek Chauvin’s defense have come to a rest, the community is bracing for further developments regarding Kim Potter, the former Minneapolis-area police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop Sunday.
Potter, arrested Wednesday on a second degree manslaughter charge and subsequently released on $100,000 bond, is due to appear in court at 1:30 pm local time. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, his colleagues Jeff Storms and Antonio Romanucci, and Wright’s family will hold a news conference at 12 pm local time to discuss the criminal case.
Updated
Trial proceedings have ended, but we want to bring you a report from inside the courtroom earlier in the day.
According to a pool report, George Floyd’s cousin, Arthur Reed, attended proceedings this morning.
When Reed was asked about Chauvin’s decision not to testify, he reportedly said that he thought prosecutors “would have chopped him down second by second,” about why he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck. “We didn’t think they were going to put him on at all.”
“We’re just ready to get this over with, make sure he gets the justice he deserves. We think the state has put on an excellent case.”
A woman sat in the Chauvin family’s seat. Per the pool report, she was “dressed in all black, her hands balled together on her lap, leaning to the side in her chair and seems to be listening attentively as the parties discuss the state’s potential rebuttal case.”
Chauvin Prosecution Rests
The prosecution in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial has just rested. Prosecutors’ announcement has come moments after Chauvin’s lawyer conducted a brief cross-examination of their rebuttal witness.
Judge Peter Cahill has just informed jurors that closings arguments will start on Monday.
Updated
Prosecutors have completed their questioning of Dr Martin Tobin, the pulmonologist whom they recalled to the stand, several moments ago.
As instructed by judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, they have not asked about the newly discovered test results involving George Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels in his blood.
They have asked Tobin, however, to explain long-known test results about Floyd’s blood oxygen levels to opine on how much carbon monoxide was in his blood. The reason for this line of questioning is because a defense witness testified Wednesday that carbon monoxide poisoning might have contributed to Floyd’s death. Fowler has contended that Floyd’s exposure came while he was prone on the ground, next to the tail pipe of a police vehicle. Prosecutors have challenged his assertion that he even knew whether the vehicle was running.
REBUTTAL: State immediately asks Dr. Tobin to clear up issue of oxygen saturation in #GeorgeFloyd at time of death. Argues blood test results that are on the record show Floyd had 98% oxygen saturation. Meaning CO could only=2%. Meaning Dr. Fowler's defense conclusions were wrong pic.twitter.com/MPYiTbgY0V
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) April 15, 2021
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell says the CO issue is the only follow-up line of questioning the state has for Dr. Tobin this morning. Judge Cahill has called for a short break for the defense to process the developments. We await Eric Nelson's next move. #DerekChauvinTrial
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) April 15, 2021
The court is now on another break.
Updated
Testimony has resumed in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell has just called Dr Martin Tobin to the stand as a rebuttal witness.
Tobin, a pulmonologist, has previously testified for the prosecution that: George Floyd “died from a low-level of oxygen and this caused damage to his brain ... and it also caused a [pulseless electrical activity] arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop.”
Tobin has also previously said: “A healthy person subjected to what Mr Floyd was subjected to would have died.”
Tobin is now testifying about a defense witness’s assertion Wednesday that Floyd might have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning during his arrest.
Updated
The judge in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial has determined that he will not let prosecutors bring up new evidence—lab tests with information about George Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels—with their rebuttal witness.
Prosecutors, it has been revealed in court, apprised Chauvin’s defense that the county medical examiner had uncovered lab results that spoke to Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels.
The county medical examiner told prosecutors that he had found these results after listening to testimony from Dr David Fowler, a defense witness who said Wednesday that Floyd might have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning prior to his death. Fowler had said that Floyd’s blood should have been tested on this issue.
Judge Peter Cahill has decided that prosecutors cannot bring up these test results when calling their rebuttal witness, saying that it was too late and wouldn’t be fair to Chauvin’s defense.
“I find that Dr Fowler’s report gave sufficient notice [to] the state that the carbon monoxide that was in George Floyd’s blood could have affected cause of death,” Cahill has said of an assessment that Fowler revealed months ago. “Basically, Dr Fowler came right out and said it should be tested.”
This gave prosecutors time to either test any blood samples from Floyd that might remain, or find old lab results on this topic, and turn them over to Chauvin’s defense.
“It seems to be me very odd,” Cahill remarks about the medical examiner’s new discovery of these pertinent results. While Cahill says he didn’t think prosecutors acted in bad faith, “it’s untimely to give the notice and it prejudiced the defense by the late disclosure.”
“It’s not going to be allowed.”
“Dr Tobin will not be able to testify about those lab results,” Cahill said of Dr Martin Tobin, an expert pulmonologist who previously testified for the prosecution, and is being re-called today.
“If he even hints there are test results that the jury has not heard about, there’s going to be a mistrial, pure and simple.”
Tobin can testify about carbon monoxide, however, if he “sticks to the environmental factors,” such as looking at videos and opining on the likelihood of gas exposure.
Tobin’s testimony is expected to begin at 10:15 am CT.
Updated
Defense rests in Derek Chauvin murder trial
The Derek Chauvin trial is moving very quickly this morning: Chauvin has told judge Peter Cahill that he will not testify in his defense and his lawyer, Eric Nelson, has told the court that the defense rests.
The prosecution is now telling Cahill that they want to call a rebuttal witness, who would discuss new evidence. This evidence relates to defense witness testimony Wednesday that George Floyd might have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The defense’s expert witness has said that this might have been a potential contributing factor in Floyd’s death.
Updated
Derek Chauvin will not testify
Derek Chauvin has just told the court that he will not testify in his defense. He has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
We will have more soon.
Updated
Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer charged with second degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, is due to appear in court Thursday.
Potter, who resigned from the suburban Minneapolis police department earlier this week, was arrested on Wednesday and released after posting a $100,000 bond, the Associated Press reports. Her first court appearance is expected to take place at 1:30 pm CT via Zoom.
Potter fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop, the criminal complaint says. The chief of Brooklyn Center’s police department, who said that Potter accidentally used her gun rather than her Taser, has also resigned.
Chauvin trial enters 14th day of witness testimony
Good morning, and welcome back to our live coverage of the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Proceedings are entering their 14th day of witness testimony.
We don’t know whether Chauvin will take the stand in his own defense, and we won’t know until it does or doesn’t happen. But judge Peter Cahill’s previous comments about trial scheduling give a sense of a potential time-frame if that were to take place.
Cahill has said several days ago that he expects testimony to end this week and will potentially give jurors the day off Friday, with closings starting on Monday; this would suggest that Chauvin would testify today should he do so.
Chauvin, a white former officer with Minneaoplis’ police department, is standing trial for charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, over the 25 May 2020 death of George Floyd. While arresting Floyd, who is Black, Chauvin pressed his knee against the man’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd, who was pushed against the pavement, subdued in the prone position, died after being restrained.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty pleas to the counts against him.
As Chauvin’s trial appears to near a close, Minneapolis remains on edge, both due to these proceedings and the police killing of a Black man, 20-year-old Daunte Wright, during a traffic stop in a nearby suburb Sunday night. Former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was arrested Wednesday on a second degree manslaughter charge, in Wright’s shooting.
Potter resigned from the police department on Tuesday; the department’s chief, who has said that she meant to fire her Taser, not her gun, has also resigned.
Here’s a recap of what happened during Wednesday’s proceedings:
- Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, called forensic pathologist Dr David Fowler to the stand as an expert witness. Fowler claimed that Floyd might have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while on the ground, as that his head was near the tail pipe of a police vehicle. “There is exposure to a vehicle exhaust, so potentially carbon monoxide poisoning, or at least an effect of carbon monoxide in his bloodstream,” he testified. Fowler maintained Floyd’s heart conditions, fentanyl and methamphetamine consumption, and possible carbon monoxide poisoning, “all of those combined to cause Mr Floyd’s death”.
- The prosecution, during cross-examination, pointed out what seemed to be a big problem for this defense theory. The police vehicle would have had to be running to emit carbon monoxide for Floyd to be exposed to it and its possible dangers. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell pushed Fowler to explain whether he could substantiate this. “Cutting even more to the chase, how do you even know the car was on?” Blackwell said. Fowler testified that he “made the observation” of liquid “dripping from a tail pipe”. Blackwell pressed Fowler to explain whether this connection was guess-work. “It’s not an assumption. It was an evaluation which, in my mind, the vehicle was running,” he responded.
- In what appeared to be a positive turn for prosecutors, Fowler also stated during cross examination that Floyd should have received emergency medical aid on the scene of his arrest. Fowler made this statement after differentiating between death and cardiac arrest. Chauvin’s defense has repeatedly argued that Floyd passed away from an acute cardiac event, which was caused by longstanding heart problems and/or his drug use. By distinguishing between cardiac arrest and death, Fowler enabled more questioning on this topic. Blackwell pressed Fowler on whether immediate medical aid could have prevented cardiac arrest from becoming deadly. “Immediate medical attention for a person who’s gone into cardiac arrest may well have reversed that process,” Fowler commented.
- Blackwell’s cross examination extensively hammered this point, pushing Fowler to say whether he felt Floyd should have gotten emergency medical aid. “As a physician, I would agree.” Blackwell then said “are you critical” of the fact that Floyd didn’t get this medical attention. “As a physician, I would agree,” Fowler commented.
- Cahill ruled that Morries Hall, who was with Floyd in the car before his deadly encounter with police, had successfully argued that he could invoke his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. This meant Hall would not take the stand. Hall told Cahill he wouldn’t answer questions, saying: “I’m fearful of criminal charges going forward. I have open charges that’s not settled yet about personal stuff.” Hall’s attorney had contended that even if Hall’s testimony were limited to his being in the car with Floyd, it could expose him to potential drug possession or even third-degree murder charges. Without going too much into the legal weeds, the basic gist of this concern is that one might be held criminally liable for a death in Minnesota if behavior, like drug possession, might have helped cause this death.
That’s it for the moment. We will be back soon as news develops.
