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(BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn.) — A passenger sitting next to Duante Wright during his police-involved killing, has filed suit against the city of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and ex-officer Kim Potter for the injuries and trauma she says was caused by the incident.

Alayna Albrecht-Payton, 21, is seeking at least $150,000 in damages in the April 11 confrontation that severely injured her and killed Wright immediately next to her, according to the lawsuit.

Albrecht-Payton, who had been dating Wright for a couple of weeks before the shooting, had testified in the trial against Potter in December 2021. In that trial, Potter claimed she mistook her firearm as a Taser and shot Wright, whose vehicle then accelerated and crashed into another SUV.

Since the trial, Potter has been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison and Brooklyn Center agreed to pay a $3.25 million settlement to Wright’s family.

Now, Albrecht-Payton is suing Brooklyn Center and Potter for the PTSD that she said she developed from witnessing Wright’s death and the severe injuries she sustained, including a broken jaw.

The lawsuit claims that Potter’s “negligent conduct” is the direct cause of Albrecht-Payton’s physical and emotional injuries, and that Brooklyn Center is liable for Potter’s actions as an officer of Brooklyn Center’s police department during the incident.

Albrecht-Payton’s attorney, Katie Bennett, told ABC News that her client is now seeking a lawsuit because she wants to hold the people involved accountable.

“Albrecht-Payton was a blameless witness to this horribly traumatic event,” Bennett said.

Bennett said that Albrecht-Payton required surgery after the incident for her broken jaw, had a concussion, punctured lips and was bleeding from her ears, and “not to mention the psychological and emotional injuries that have been life altering,” she added.

Jason M. Hiveley, who is representing Brooklyn Center and Potter, told ABC News that he is in the process of reviewing Albrecht-Payton’s medical records and evaluating their legal defenses.

The lawsuits states that Potter endangered Albrecht-Payton’s safety and that of a nearby fellow Brooklyn Center police officer when she shot Wright.

When Wright’s vehicle crashed into a nearby SUV after the shot, the lawsuit also alleges that Albrecht-Payton “bore the brunt” of the impact and despite her injuries “desperately” tried to save Wright as he “gasped for air.”

Instead of receiving help, responding officers held Albrecht-Payton at gunpoint and placed her in handcuffs, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that Albrecht-Payton was bleeding from the head and face when officers approached her, and she was brought to the emergency room, where she was “severely distraught” and couldn’t explain to emergency services what had happened.

After firing a shot at Wright, leading to the crash and further confrontation of Albrecht-Payton by other officers, Potter broke down on the curb and started “wailing” instead of giving aid to Wright or Albrecht-Payton, the lawsuit said.

“Potter worried only about the consequences to herself,” the lawsuit read. “She drew her fellow officers’ attention to herself and away from responding to the crisis she created. Officer [Anthony] Luckey patted her back as she lay face down on the grass, expressing her concern that she was ‘going to prison.'”

Five days after the incident, Albrecht-Payton underwent jaw surgery that left four screws in her jaw and wired her mouth shut for two weeks. She was only able to eat soft foods for another six weeks, the lawsuit said.

Her physical and emotional injuries prevented her from sleeping or eating regularly, leading her to become severely malnourished, according to the lawsuit.

She was hospitalized from April 26 – 29, with her medical records stating that “she was in an agitated delirium following her boyfriend being killed in front of her eyes,” according to the lawsuit.

In the months since, Albrecht-Payton has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder, the lawsuit said.

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(NEW YORK) — Two more people have been killed by a massive fire raging through a Northern California national forest, officials said Tuesday.

The death toll from the McKinney Fire burning in the Klamath National Forest near the Oregon border now stands at four after search teams discovered two bodies Monday at separate residences on the perimeter of the blaze along Highway 96, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.

The grim discovery comes after two people were found dead over the weekend in their car in a driveway in the town of Klamath River, according to the sheriff’s office. Officials believe they were trying to flee the fire when they were killed.

Search crews continued Tuesday going door to door searching for victims of the ferocious blaze.

Meanwhile, firefighters battling the enormous blaze in Northern California’s Klamath National Forest are simultaneously fighting another growing fire in the same drought-dry forest, officials said. The China2 Fire is burning about 60 miles away near the community of Happy Camp.

Both blazes in Siskiyou County were 0% contained Tuesday morning. The McKinney fire, near the small town of Yreka, grew by nearly 700 acres overnight to 56,165 acres, officials said.

Fanned by erratic winds, the China2 Fire ignited Friday, the same day as the McKinney Fire, and has been more of a slow burn compared the rapid pace of the larger blaze, according to Cal Fire’s latest incident reports. The China2 Fire has grown from roughly 300 acres on Saturday to nearly 2,000 acres by Tuesday.

Joel Brumm, a spokesperson for the Klamath National Forest, told ABC News that a federal team of firefighters is being moved from the McKinney Fire on Tuesday to help battle the China2 blaze.

“They’re trying to keep the fire from crossing Highway 96 at any point,” said Brumm. Highway 96 has been closed in the area since both fires started.

Brumm said the China2 Fire, started by a lightning strike, has merged with a smaller blaze called the Evans Fire. Yet another fire burning near the China2 Fire, called the Alex Fire, has charred about 140 acres.

While rainfall on Monday night and into Tuesday morning kept the McKinney Fire’s growth minimal, no rain was reported in the China2 Fire, Brumm said.

“They didn’t have that precipitation, so they were still seeing active burning last night, active flames,” he said.

Red Flag fire danger warnings have been issued for Tuesday in the area of the McKinney Fire due to possible thunderstorms, strong winds and lightning, according to Brumm, who described the McKinney Fire “as creeping and smoldering at this moment.”

“The moisture with the thunderstorms can be helpful, but you can get these winds up to 40 and 50 mph, which can catch an ember, bring it back to life and really cause this fire to move quickly,” he said.

The McKinney Fire is burning through a tinderbox of high dry grass, brush and timber and is now the largest wildland fire in the state this year, surpassing the Oak Fire in Mariposa County near Yosemite, according to Cal Fire. The Oak Fire, which started on July 22, was 76% contained on Tuesday after burning 19,244 acres and destroying 182 structures, including more than 100 homes, officials said.

About 3,000 residents, including some on the west side of Yreka, have been evacuated due to the McKinney Fire’s proximity to the town.

“Crews were able to work successfully behind the city of Yreka, bringing dozer line along the ridge to protect the structures,” Cal Fire said in its incident report released Tuesday morning.

Many of the homes and structures damaged or destroyed by the McKinney Fire were in the community of Klamath River, about 33 miles west of Yreka.

“It’s devastating,” Chief Janet Jones of the Klamath River Volunteer Fire Department, told ABC News. “We don’t have the resources that larger cities do. The people won’t be able to rebuild.”

ABC News’ Will Carr and Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.

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(KALAMAZOO, Mich.) — A Michigan Planned Parenthood was intentionally set on fire, local authorities said.

The Kalamazoo, Michigan, clinic was shut down on Sunday after a fire broke out around 4:10 p.m, according to officials.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety released a surveillance photo that captured the alleged suspect wearing a black baseball cap, camouflage jacket, dark pants, blue medical mask and dark backpack.

First responders extinguished the fire in less than 10 minutes. The damage was minor and there were no injuries, according to police.

The clinic was closed following the incident and reopened at 1 p.m. on Monday, according to the clinic’s website.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan said its alarm systems appeared to have worked properly and it thanked firefighters for their quick response.

“As always, our top priority is the health and safety of our patients and staff, and we are grateful that no one was hurt,” Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said in a statement to ABC News. “We remain committed to serving our patients — no matter what.”

Kalamazoo police are working with federal and local authorities to investigate the incident, officials said.

“I am appalled, shaken and disgusted. The responsible parties must be brought to justice. I will never stop fighting to keep abortion legal,” State Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, tweeted after the news broke on Sunday.

The fire came just one day before a Michigan judge ruled to temporarily block the state’s 1931 abortion ban. The block came just hours after a different judge ruled to allow the state to prosecute based on the law.

“This lack of legal clarity — that took place within the span of a workday — is yet another textbook example of why the Michigan Supreme Court must take up my lawsuit against the 1931 extreme abortion ban as soon as possible,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement on Monday.

Officials ask that anyone with information about the fire or suspect to contact KDPS at 269-337-8120 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.

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(WASHINGTON) — One of two men charged with impersonating federal law enforcement officers and allegedly duping U.S. Secret Service agents pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy, among other charges including illegally recording sexual videos of women without consent.

Authorities say Arian Taherzadeh used a fake persona as a federal law enforcement officer to get close with real members of the Secret Service, including at least one assigned to the White House, and defraud multiple Washington, D.C., apartment buildings out of more than $800,000 in rent and fees.

Taherzadeh and his alleged associate Haider Ali had multiple firearms and a variety of equipment they kept in one of the penthouse apartments. Ali, a co-defendant in the case, had maintained his innocence since the two were arrested last April and pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him.

In addition to living rent-free with his associates, Taherzadeh provided two Secret Service employees with their own luxury apartments for about a year using his fake persona.

“The Secret Service adheres to the highest levels of professional standards and conduct and will remain in active coordination with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security,” the Secret Service said in a statement at the time.

Posing as a federal official, Taherzadeh gained access to security camera video from the apartment complexes and set up a surveillance system of his own. He installed cameras outside and inside his apartment, using them “to record women engaged in sexual activity,” according to the guilty plea.

A 9mm Glock handgun with large capacity magazine, an unlicensed long gun and several electronic devices including more than two dozen hard drives, a computer server and surveillance equipment were among the evidence seized by authorities.

Tactical gear often used by law enforcement, clothing with police logos and a finger printing kit were also found in the apartment.

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(NEW YORK) — At least 37 people have been killed in Kentucky’s devastating flooding, which Gov. Andy Beshear has called the most “devastating and deadly” of his lifetime.

Among those killed are four siblings — ages 8, 6, 4 and 2 — who were swept away in the water, according to family members.

The number of deaths “will grow,” the governor said.

Over 1,300 people have been rescued from flooded areas, the governor said Tuesday.

Kentucky was bracing overnight for new storms moving through the already flood-ravaged areas. But Beshear said Tuesday morning that the ground stayed “pretty much dry” overnight.

A few passing showers are possible on Tuesday but the state should stay dry through Sunday, when residents may get hit with more rain.

Beshear said he’ll visit more areas impacted by flooding on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden has approved a disaster declaration.

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(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — Strong rain continued to fall early Tuesday in Kentucky, as officials and first responders worked to find perhaps hundreds of people who were reported missing amid floods that have killed at least 37.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday evening warned that a “series of complex storms” were moving overnight through counties already ravaged by flooding.

“The biggest concern is overnight flooding,” he said on Twitter. “Please, if you are in an area that has suffered flooding seek shelter on higher ground. Be weather-aware and stay safe.”

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center early on Tuesday warned of flash floods throughout Kentucky, along with areas in Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois and Indiana.

The Kentucky governor’s office said Beshear on Tuesday would visit three eastern counties hit by the flooding. He was expected to meet with local officials, volunteers and families.

At least 37 people were reported dead as of Monday, Beshear said. He had said earlier in the day that there were “hundreds of unaccounted for people, minimum,” but cautioned that the number wasn’t exact.

Almost 600 people had been rescued from flooded areas by Monday, with thousands more expected to lose their homes, the governor’s office said.

The National Weather Service issued a new flash flood warning for “most” of Kentucky at about 2:30 a.m. local time. South-central Illinois and far southern Indiana were also expected to get heavy rains that could result in flash flooding, the center said.

Some areas in Kentucky had seen from 4 to 8 inches of rain in six hours prior to 2 a.m., the center said.

“Instances of flash flooding are likely to continue and expand through dawn, possibly becoming significant to extreme locally near the IL/IN/KY border region,” the center said.

Beshear’s office said the governor will brief media at the Capitol at 8 a.m. local time, offering details on the state’s response.

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(WASHINGTON) — Six men were shot and one was killed in a shooting in northeast Washington, D.C. on Monday, police said.

“We appear to have a large group of people who were in the area when the shots rang out,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee told reporters, adding, “We have no idea why the shots were fired at this point.”

Police said it’s still unclear if the victims knew each other, or if this shooting is related to any other incidents in the city. However, Contee did say the “common denominator” is “illegal firearms in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them and when disputes get resolved as a result of a gun being used.”

The ATF Washington Field Division was on the scene assisting police in the ongoing investigation.

According to the D.C. Police Union, this is the sixth mass shooting in the city in 2022.

When asked about the community’s frustration with violent crime, Contee told reporters he’s also frustrated.

“I’m angered and I’m sad. I’m angered at the fact that residents had to experience this in their community tonight. The residents didn’t deserve this,” he said. “They did not deserve to have people shot in the communities where they live. I’m saddened because I know of all of the investments that the city has made in violence interruption efforts.”

“We have people who are in our communities who just have lost their sense of humanity. And that really saddens me,” Contee added.

Within the last three weeks, D.C police, council members and other local officials met specifically about the apartment building where Monday’s shooting occurred.

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(LAS VEGAS, N.M.) — As his city stands on the brink of running out of water, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Mayor Louie Trujillo said the fires that initiated the problem could have been avoided.

“The government is 100% responsible for this disaster and we intend to hold them accountable, to pay for every expense and discomfort that the citizens are suffering right now, even if it includes legal recourse,” Trujillo said.

The city is in a state of emergency after intense flooding at the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire “burn scar” area led to contamination in water reservoirs from ash, soot, burned trees, pine needles, rocks and boulders.

The two fires were set by the U.S. Forest Service but became uncontrollable, New Mexico officials said.

Now, the Gallinas Reservoir, where the people of Las Vegas get the majority of their drinking water, is expected to be out of usable water within 50 days.

The first fire was set in late 2021 and wasn’t properly extinguished, allowing it to reignite in April, Trujillo said. That fire then joined together with another that was set by the service in April.

The second fire was originally ignited to try to thin dense pine needles, but it was set during windy conditions.

The combined Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire is now the largest New Mexico blaze in history, officials said.

“The destruction that continues to befall New Mexico communities affected by the U.S. Forest Service planned burns from earlier this year is unfathomable,” Grisham said in a statement.

Trujillo said he has met with Washington officials about the issue, including President Joe Biden, who made a visit to the area in June.

“We are going to insist that they continue to assist our residents with what we need,” Trujillo said.

The U.S. Forest Service has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency on Friday, leading to an executive order of $2.25 million to address the water crisis.

“New Mexicans in San Miguel County have been through enough — we will continue to do everything we can to support them and prevent additional damage as a result of the wildfires,” Grisham said in a statement.

The funds will be used to help the local government with emergency measures, repairs and prevention plans.

Along with Gallinas, Las Vegas allocates some parts of Storrie Lake for its water.

The governor’s order will permit a temporary pre-treatment system that will allow officials to pump and treat water from the lake to augment the remaining usable water from the river.

Hundreds of people are working on this initiative, Trujillo said, as the city is also preparing for its college student population to return in the fall. New Mexico Highlands University, with an enrollment of over 3,700 students, is located in the city.

The systems are important for long-term solutions, as this will impact the water source into next year, the mayor said.

Because the area has had one of the most fruitful monsoon seasons so far in years, the damage to the water is even more frustrating, Trujillo said. Las Vegas’ current filtration system does not allow officials to filter the turbulent water that is flowing from the flood into the river, Trujillo explained.

“We’ve had rain almost every single day in the area of the burn scar. We haven’t had a fruitful monsoon season in years and this is the year that we’re getting it and we can’t use any of that water for our purposes,” Trujillo told ABC News.

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Monday sentenced the first Capitol rioter convicted at trial to 87 months, or just over seven years in prison — the longest term of incarceration thus far for a defendant in the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the Jan. 6 assault on Congress.

Guy Wesley Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury in March of five felony counts, including obstruction of justice as well as entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a firearm.

Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice had asked that Reffitt be sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors had also — for the first time — asked a federal district court judge to apply a terrorism enhancement, which would effectively define under law that a rioter’s actions amounted to domestic terrorism.

“We do believe that what he was doing that day was domestic terrorism and we do believe that he’s a domestic terrorist,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said Monday.

But the judge overseeing Reffitt’s case, Dabney Friedrich, turned down the request, saying that there have been multiple other defendants from the Jan. 6 attack where DOJ chose not to pursue the terrorism enhancement, despite their conduct appearing to be much more serious and threatening than what Reffitt was convicted of at trial.

Reffitt’s attorney, Clinton Broden, argued the DOJ was unfairly seeking to make an example of Reffitt simply because he took his case to trial.

“This is the only case where the government has asked for the terrorism enhancement, and this is the only case where the defendant has gone to trial,” Broden said. “I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure that out.”

Reffitt is among the more than 850 people who have been charged in connection with the deadly breach of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Over 200 defendants have already pleaded guilty to a variety of misdemeanors and felony charges, with some being sentenced to years in federal prison.

Reffitt’s attorney, Clinton Broden, asked that his client be sentenced to no more than two years. He said he was shocked by the prosecution’s recommendation, since his client wasn’t accused of entering the Capitol or assaulting any police officers that day.

“It’s absolutely absurd,” Broden told The Associated Press during a telephone interview last month. “I certainly don’t condone what Mr. Reffitt did. And I think everybody realizes the seriousness of the offenses. But at the same point, there has to be some proportionality here.”

Federal sentencing guidelines in Reffitt’s case called for a prison sentence ranging from nine years to 11 years and three months.

During the trial, prosecutors sought to cast Reffitt, a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia group, as a ringleader of one of the first waves of the mob that breached the Capitol from the building’s west side.

Videos played in court showed Reffitt climbing a stone banister near where scaffolding had been put up in advance of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and Reffitt confronting U.S. Capitol Police officers who warned him to back down before they fired less-than-lethal ammunition and pepper spray to stop his advance. Other videos presented in court showed Reffitt gesturing to the crowd behind him in what appeared to be an attempt to get them to move up the stairs toward multiple entryways that lead into the building.

At one point in the trial, prosecutors played first-person footage that Reffitt had recorded with a 360-degree camera mounted on his helmet while in the crowd at the “Save America” rally prior to the attack.

“We’re taking the Capitol before the day is out,” Reffitt says in the video. “Everybody is in the same harmony on that … dragging ’em out kicking and f***ing screaming.”

“I didn’t come here to play games … I just want to see Pelosi’s head hit every f***ing stair on the way out,” he says later. “I think we have the numbers to make it happen … without firing a single shot.”

The Justice Department’s case also relied on two key witnesses: Rocky Hardie, a former member of the Texas Three Percenters, who testified against Reffitt in exchange for immunity to cooperate, and Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, who submitted an online tip to the FBI first alerting them to his father’s plans weeks before the riot, ultimately leading to Reffitt’s arrest on Jan. 16, 2021.

During an interview with ABC News from jail last December, Reffitt said he “never expected anything like this to happen.”

“This has been disastrous for me and my family, especially for my girls, my son — actually, all of my family,” Reffitt told ABC News

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(NEW YORK) — Medical examiners are investigating whether the deaths of 10 people who died during a brutal heat wave in the Pacific Northwest last week were heat related, according to officials.

Temperatures in the triple digits were recorded across much of the Pacific Northwest that started Tuesday and lasted through the weekend — a region that is rarely used to seeing temperatures exceed the 90-degree mark.

As of Sunday, potential heat-related deaths were reported in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, as well as Umatilla County, Marion County and Clackamas County, according to a statement from the Oregon state medical examiner’s office. The deaths occurred from Thursday through Saturday, officials said.

Excessive heat warnings were in effect for much of the region last week. On Tuesday, Portland hit 102 degrees, while temperatures reached 102 degrees in Redding, California, and 107 degrees in Yakima, Washington.

Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer. On average, more people in the U.S. die from extreme heat than any other severe weather event, including tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding combined, according to the National Weather Service.

Portland saw temperatures exceeding 95 degrees for seven days straight, beating a previous record of six days.

Vulnerable populations, including impoverished and marginalized communities and those with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma and heart disease, are most at risk when temperatures begin to skyrocket, Ladd Keith, an assistant professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the University of Arizona, told ABC News in June.

The extreme heat prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency that lasted through Sunday. The majority of households in the Pacific Northwest are not equipped with central air conditioning.

Last week’s heat wave drew parallels to the two historic heat waves that hit the region in the summer of 2021. Scientists later found that these heat waves would have been “virtually impossible” had it not been for climate change and rising global temperatures.

The heat is expected to move out of the Pacific Northwest on Monday and toward eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, where triple-digit high temperatures are possible.

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