Testimony resumed in the trial of Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota cop who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April.
On Monday (December 13) Hennepin County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Lorren Jackson took the stand, testifying that Wright's death was a homicide and that he died from a single "unsurvivable" gunshot wound to the chest.
When asked if the 20-year-old could have survived the shooting, Jackson told prosecutors, "No. Survival times for such an injury would be just seconds to minutes," he explained to the jury. The bullet had hit his heart, he said later in his testimony.
The fatal bullet did not leave Wright's body, instead it "made a hole in the skin," also known as a partial exit wound. Wright also had superficial, blunt force injuries to the face, including abrasions on his lip, Jackson noted, though the gunshot wound, he said, was the sole cause of death.
Defense attorneys pressed Jackson in cross examination asking about the amount of THC in Wright's system at the time of his death. Jackson admitted that the level had indicated recent marijuana use, but that it had no implications in how or why he died.
Last week, Daunte's mother and girlfriend took the stand describing the tragic final moments of his life.
Wright had called his mother, Katie Bryant, after being pulled over by Potter and another rookie officer she was training. Bryant said that she asked her son why he was being pulled over, to which he replied "air fresheners" hanging from his rearview mirror.
Potter maintains that she accidentally grabbed her gun instead of taser, defense attorneys stating that she had the right to use force in the scenario and is only guilty of making a "simple, human error."
Potter faces first- and second-degree manslaughter charges.
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The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
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