The conviction of Minnesota police officer Kim Potter by the jury, along with the denial of bail by the judge, does set quite a dangerous precedent. The incident this relates to would be the death of Daunte Wright, for which Officer Potter, a decorated policewoman with close to two decades of service, simply didn’t commit a crime.
In fact, the prosecution did concede that the police officer had no intentions of shooting Wright, and she unintentionally pulled out a gun and fired it rather than a Taser- that she was actually going for.
Kim Potter’s Conviction- A Bad Precedent For America
As mentioned in the American Constitution, honest mistakes are not deemed as crimes- even if the end result could be tragic deaths. As an example, an elderly driver accidentally stepping on the accelerator rather than the brake and killing a child wouldn’t be accused of committing a crime.
The American Law clearly states that an event becomes a crime only if the action involved was reckless, which also includes a consciously made decision to engage in conduct where the defendant would know there was a high chance of injury or death. In this particular case, there was absolutely no evidence that Kim Potter had consciously made the decision to fire the gun.
Also, there wasn’t any sufficient evidence to prove that Kim Potter had committed a criminal act by deciding to stun Wright. Wright, as it turns out, had an outstanding warrant for an armed crime, and his refusal to surrender posed a threat to not just Potter, but also her fellow officer.
What’s worse than the verdict of the jury has been the decision of the judge to deny Kim Potter bail pending appeal. While there is a possibility that her conviction would be reversed by an appellate court, the decision to throw her in prison seems to be a move to appease the public.
