(MINNEAPOLIS) — Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter will receive her sentence on Friday, Feb. 18 following her conviction in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop.
A Minnesota jury convicted Potter, 49, of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021, incident. She had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter — 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
In a court filing on Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office announced they are seeking 86 months, or 7 years and 2 months, prison time for Potter. Sentences in the state are served concurrently, so Potter would only serve the higher sentence.
The prosecution also asked that in the event the court sentences Potter to probation, that she serve at least one year in prison “to reflect the seriousness of Daunte Wright’s death,” and that the probation last at least 10 years, according to court documents.
Potter fatally shot Wright after initially pulling him over for an expired registration tag on his car. She then determined he had an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge and tried to detain him, according to former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, who resigned after the incident.
As officers tried to arrest him, Wright freed himself and tried to get back in his vehicle. That’s when, according to Potter’s attorneys, she accidentally grabbed her firearm instead of her stun gun and shot him.
Wright’s death reignited protests against racism and police brutality across the U.S., as the killing took place just outside of Minneapolis, where the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was taking place at the time.
Potter took the stand on the last day of her trial, breaking down in tears and apologizing. “I’m sorry,” she said through sobs, “I didn’t want to hurt anybody.”
The jury deliberated for about four days before reaching a verdict on Dec. 23.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The City of Austin has agreed to pay a combined $10 million to two demonstrators who were injured during by police during the 2020 racial justice protests that took place in the city.
Two protesters, Justin Howell and Anthony Evans, were severely injured when police used “less-lethal” ammunition as a form of crowd control during protests that took place after the deaths of George Floyd and Michael Ramos, who was killed by an Austin Police officer, according to two civil lawsuits filed against the city.
Members of the Austin City Council voted Thursday to approve the settlements to Anthony Evans, who will be paid $2 million, and Justin Howell, who will receive $8 million, marking the largest settlement amount ever paid for a use-of-force case in Austin, ABC Austin affiliate KVUE-TV reported.
Howell was critically injured on May 31, 2020, when an officer shot him with “less-lethal” ammunition in downtown Austin, then-Police Chief Brian Manley told KVUE-TV the next day. Howell, who was a 20-year-old political science major at Texas State University at the time, suffered a fractured skull. He filed a civil lawsuit against the city in the Western District of Texas in August 2021.
Evans was peacefully protesting at the Austin Police Department headquarters on June 6, 2020, when he was hit with bean bags and foam bullets deployed by officers, KVUE-TV reported. Evans spent his 26th birthday undergoing surgery on his face, telling the station that his jaw looked like he “got hit by a car.” Evans underwent two surgeries, had a metal wire placed in his mouth for six weeks and now has a permanent titanium plate in his jaw, he told KVUE-TV.
Evans filed his lawsuit against the city in the Western District of Texas in October 2020.
In a statement to KVUE-TV, a City of Austin spokesperson said the city was settling lawsuits filed by two individuals who “suffered significant injuries” in the protests. The “significant dollar amounts” included in the settlement stem from the plaintiffs’ “need for ongoing and long-term care,” the spokesperson said.
“We have reviewed the totality of the circumstances surrounding the protests, and we believe it is in the best interest of these plaintiffs and the City of Austin to resolve these cases now,” the statement read. “We have other claims and lawsuits that have been filed as a result of injuries during the protests, and we will review each of those matters individually.”
Eleven Austin officers were disciplined for their actions during the protests after Manley completed his review of all known complaints and incidents involving officers during the demonstrations.
The Austin Police Department was not adequately prepared for the size of the crowd during the 2020 protests and did not anticipate the injuries that would occur from the “less-lethal” rounds, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said in a statement. The department now prohibits less-lethal ammunition for crowd control.
“I understand the Council’s decision to settle these two cases now, and our hearts go out to these two individuals who received serious injuries during the May 2020 protests,” Chacon said.
(NEW YORK) — Americans in at least 30 states are on high alert for snow, ice, flooding and tornadoes as storms sweep across the eastern half of the country.
They could bring damaging winds across the Deep South Thursday into Friday.
Excessive rain could lead to flooding across the Ohio Valley and the interior Northeast and ice jams are possible in the eastern Great Lakes.
Winter weather is expected from Wichita to Detroit. Half a foot of snow and icy conditions are expected through late Thursday.
A tornado watch is in place for Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi through 6 p.m. Central Time.
A few tornadoes are likely in addition to wind gusts up to 75 mph.
Very heavy rain and flood threats extend into Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Heavy snow is falling Thursday afternoon from Wichita to Chicago, with over 9 inches of snow already reported in the Kansas City area.
Storms will continue across Tennessee and Mississippi Thursday evening and severe weather will stretch from Louisville to Nashville to Birmingham.
Heavy rain and flood threats will move east across the Ohio Valley and into the interior Northeast, from Cincinnati to Buffalo.
Chicago could potentially see between 1 to 4 inches of snow and 4 to 8 inches of snow in Detroit by Thursday night.
A storm moves into the Northeast late Thursday night through early Friday morning, with rain likely.
Heavy downpours are expected overnight, with possible thunder as the storm moves through the I-95 corridor in the early morning.
High wind warnings are in place along the coast from Long Island to Cape Cod, where gusts could exceed 60 miles per hour. The winds could cause damage and power outages by Friday morning.
Parts of the Denver metro area got more than a half a foot of snow overnight Wednesday into Thursday, causing slick roads and closing parts of I-70.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has released videos and documents related to the death of Irene Chavez, a woman who died in police custody last December.
The materials were released as part of an investigation by the civilian oversight agency looking into Chavez’s death.
According to police, the 33-year-old woman died after an “attempted suicide” on Dec. 18, 2021, at the 3rd District Police Station. The official cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told ABC News.
Body camera video released by COPA shows Chavez being arrested hours before her death and transported to the police station.
According to the incident report and videos released by COPA, Chavez told officers that she is a veteran and suffers from PTSD.
Police said Chavez was taken into custody after her involvement in a bar fight at the Jeffery Pub Tavern and was belligerent during processing.
Chavez could be heard by police shouting in the holding cell, the report said. After about five minutes of silence, an officer went to check on her well-being by looking through the window. That’s when Chavez was found with her shirt wrapped around her neck and a “faint pulse,” the report said.
Video released by COPA shows officers performing CPR before Chavez was transported to the University of Chicago Hospital. According to COPA, Chavez was in “critical condition” at the time and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
COPA said in a statement that the agency has been in touch with Chavez’s family and provided them with documentation for viewing prior to the release of materials.
Chavez’s family is now demanding answers from police.
Iris Chavez, Irene’s sister, told reporters in December that police have not provided details surrounding her sister’s death and called for an investigation.
Iris Chavez started a GoFundMe page to support the family in covering costs related to her sister’s death and said that Irene was her only sister.
“When I say my heart is what one would call broken glass in a bag…MY absolute FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD and ONLY SISTER HAS PASSED AWAY,” she wrote on the page.
Chavez is one of two women to die in Chicago police custody within less than two months.
COPA is also investigating the death of London Marquez, 31, who died on Jan. 27. According to Marquez’s family, she was pregnant at the time of her death.
The investigation is ongoing and the cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Chicago police declined to comment and referred questions regarding both cases to COPA.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 930,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-US daily cases drop from 807,000 to 134,000 in 1 month
-Study: People who survived COVID in 1st few months of pandemic had significantly higher risk of mental health problems
-Updated mask guidance from CDC could come next week
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 17, 5:03 pm
California to roll out COVID ‘endemic’ plan
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday will announce the state’s “endemic” COVID-19 plan — a vague but flexible approach that will change based off the characteristics of new variants.
State officials said clear “on and off ramps” for future restrictions will be created for specific variants.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said case rates could be determinative for future restrictions if there’s a deadly variant, while hospital capacity could be the primary indicator if California faces a less virulent variant, similar to omicron.
The SMARTER plan focuses on seven areas: S – Shots; M – Masks “on and off ramps that are tailored for each unique virus strain”; A – Awareness; R – Readiness; T – Testing; E – Education; and R – Rx (Treatment).
State officials are expected to publish a one to two-page SMARTER summary of the state’s current recommendations on COVID-19 in the next few days. The document will be consistently updated so Californians can reference what the state’s current recommendations are.
ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman
Feb 17, 4:46 pm
New Mexico ends mask mandate
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday the state’s mask mandate is ending, effective immediately, ABC affiliate KOAT-TV reported.
Private businesses and school districts can set their own mask rules, KOAT-TV said.
Feb 17, 12:20 pm
US daily cases drop from 807,000 to 134,000 in 1 month
In January, omicron sent U.S. cases surging to an unprecedented high, with over 807,000 daily COVID-19 cases at the nation’s peak. Exactly one month later, cases have plummeted to an average of 134,000 new cases per day, according to federal data.
Nearly every state is reporting declining case rates, but nearly 97% of U.S. counties are still reporting high transmission. Also, experts continue to caution that many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.
Hospitalizations are also continuing to drop, according to federal data. The U.S. has 71,000 patients with COVID-19 currently in hospitals; during the mid-January peak, there were 160,000 hospitalized patients.
Fatalities — a lagging indicator — are slowly starting to fall. The U.S. is now averaging 2,100 COVID-19-related deaths each day, down by nearly 10% in the last week, according to federal data.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 17, 9:55 am
Study: People who survived COVID in 1st few months of pandemic had significantly higher risk of mental health problems
A new study finds that people who survived COVID-19 during the first few months of the pandemic had a significantly higher risk of developing mental health disorders, including opioid use disorder, in the year after their COVID-19 diagnosis.
The study, published in The BMJ medical journal, evaluated medical records of nearly 154,000 COVID-19 patients in the Veterans Health Administration, comparing their experiences to a similar group of people that didn’t have COVID-19.
After recovering from COVID-19, people with no prior history of mental illness were more likely to develop anxiety, depression, opioid use disorder, neurocognitive decline, and sleep disorders.
In an accompanying editorial, one of the lead researchers of the study argued that the mental health consequences of COVID-19 should be treated seriously and society shouldn’t “gaslight or dismiss long covid as a psychosomatic condition.”
The study only looked at people who survived COVID-19 from March 2020 to Jan. 2021 — before vaccines were widely available. It’s not clear if these findings apply to people diagnosed with COVID-19 more recently.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a powerful and emotional eulogy at Thursday’s funeral for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant.
Locke, who was fatally shot on Feb. 2, was not named in the “no-knock” warrant.
Body camera video showed officers executing the warrant and finding Locke, who didn’t live at the home, sleeping under a blanket on the couch. Locke was seen holding a gun as he sat up; he was shot less than 10 seconds after officers entered the room, still covered in the blanket.
Locke’s mother, Karen Wells, at the funeral said her son was “executed.”
“How dare you?” she said. “You’re not above the law.”
Locke’s parents vowed to fight for a law in their son’s name banning “no-knock” warrants and Sharpton promised to support Locke’s family, saying, “Amir was not guilty of anything but being young and Black in America.”
Sharpton drew a connection between the “no-knock” warrant and how many Black Americans have the last name that once belonged to their enslaved relatives’ masters.
“That’s why it didn’t matter that Amir’s name wasn’t on the warrant — ’cause we don’t have a right to a name in the eyes of some in this country. We are nameless suspects,” Sharpton said.
“We are no longer gonna be your nameless suspects,” Sharpton said. “Amir has a name. His name wasn’t on your warrant — but his name’s gonna be in your law book.”
Speaking to the officers, Locke’s aunt, Linda Tyler, said at the service, “You did have time to subdue him.”
“You had time to assess the situation … but you didn’t. So you don’t need further training — you need to be fired,” she said. “You ambushed my nephew, you took his life. And while he didn’t matter to you … he mattered to this whole family. He mattered to this community.”
Locke’s funeral was held at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, the same church where a funeral was held last year for 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Wright was shot dead at a traffic stop by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer who claimed she mistook her gun for a Taser. The officer was found guilty of both first- and second-degree manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on Friday.
Locke’s shooting remains under investigation.
Relatives of George Floyd and Botham Jean, who were also killed at the hands of police, attended Locke’s funeral.
ABC News’ Adia Robinson and Kendall Ross contributed to this report.
(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — In his state trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Travis McMichael testified he is not a racist. But prosecutors in his federal hate crimes case have presented the jury with numerous statements, text messages and social media posts to allege racism was the underlying motive for why he, his father and their neighbor chased down and killed the 25-year-old Black man.
FBI analyst Amy Vaughn testified on Wednesday that she found a digital onslaught of messages, mostly from Travis McMichael, in which he allegedly routinely used racial slurs to describe Black people and advocated violence against them.
In one instance, Vaughn testified that the 36-year-old McMichael posted on social media his reaction to a news report on a confrontation between two white people and two Black people, allegedly saying Black people needed to be made examples of.
“‘They’d be scraping up brain matter if this happened to my wife or daughter,'” Vaughn read out loud from McMichael’s alleged message in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia.
McMichael, his 64-year-old father, Gregory McMichael, a former Georgia police officer; and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, have each been charged with one count of interference of Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and Travis McMichael faces an additional count of using a firearm in relation to a violent crime.
If convicted, the men could be sentenced to life in prison. All three are already serving life sentences, the McMichaels without the possibility of parole, after a state jury convicted them last year of murdering Arbery.
Derek Thomas, Travis McMichael’s childhood friend, testified on Wednesday that he was shocked by a violent, racist response Travis McMichael allegedly gave to what he said was supposed to be a funny video of a Black man playing a prank on his white friend.
Thomas said he was so disturbed by Travis McMichael’s texted response that he called him to confront him about it. When asked to read Travis McMichael’s text in court, Thomas declined and instead spelled out the racial slur he used to describe Black people.
Vaughn said her investigation led to the discovery of racist online posts by Bryan and bigoted comments Gregory McMichael used to describe Black people.
While the FBI was unable to get access to Gregory McMichael’s phone because of its encryption, Vaughn testified that investigators did find posts he made on Facebook that she read in court, including one in which he allegedly wrote, “The gun in the hand is worth more than the entire police force on the phone.”
Vaughn said the FBI also uncovered numerous online posts from Bryan in which he allegedly express his resentment over a relationship his daughter developed with a Black man. In one post Vaughn read in court, Bryan allegedly wrote, “This is the only thing I said I would never accept” and added, “If she doesn’t give a f— about herself, why should we?”
Arbery was out for a Sunday afternoon jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in the Satilla shores neighborhood near Brunswick, when the McMichaels assumed he was a burglarizing a home under construction in their neighborhood, armed themselves and chased him in their pickup truck. Bryan joined the five-minute pursuit, blocking Arbery’s path with his truck. He recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery with a shotgun during a struggle.
While the McMichaels claimed they chased Arbery not because he was Black, but because he was trespassing at their neighbor’s house, prosecutors on Wednesday showed the jury videos of Travis McMichael trespassing while on a hunting trip. In one of the videos, Travis McMichael is seen smiling while standing next to “No Trespassing” signs.
Prosecutors also showed the jury an online post in which Gregory McMichael allegedly wrote, “There’s private property and then there’s private property, you know?”
In her opening statement in the high-profile trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bobbi Bernstein told the jury she will also present evidence that Bryan told investigators that after Travis McMichael shot Arbery he allegedly heard him yell a racist epithet at the victim as he lay dying on the pavement.
Bernstein told the panel that while it is not illegal to use racial slurs, “these slurs can provide you with evidence as to why a defendant did what he did.”
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Grieving family and friends are gathering Thursday at the funeral of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant.
Locke, who was fatally shot on Feb. 2, was not named in the no-knock warrant.
Body camera video showed officers executing the warrant and finding Locke, who had been sleeping under a blanket on the couch and holding a gun. Locke was seen holding a gun as he sat up; he was shot less than 10 seconds after officers entered the room, still covered in the blanket.
“My son Amir was a law-abiding citizen who did not have a criminal history,” his father, Andre Locke, said at a news conference. “My son Amir was loved by many of us, by our family and many people, everyone that he came in touch with. My son Amir did what was right. He did all the things that he was supposed to do.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy and officiate the funeral at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis.
Locke’s funeral is at the same church where a funeral was held last year for 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Wright was shot dead a traffic stop by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer who claimed she mistook her gun for a Taser. The officer was found guilty of both first- and second-degree manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on Friday.
ABC News’ Adia Robinson and Kendall Ross contributed to this report.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Grieving family and friends will gather Thursday at the funeral of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant.
Locke, who was fatally shot on Feb. 2, was not named in the no-knock warrant.
Body camera video showed officers executing the warrant and finding Locke, who had been sleeping under a blanket on the couch and holding a gun. Locke was seen holding a gun as he sat up; he was shot less than 10 seconds after officers entered the room, still covered in the blanket.
“My son Amir was a law-abiding citizen who did not have a criminal history,” his father, Andre Locke, said at a news conference. “My son Amir was loved by many of us, by our family and many people, everyone that he came in touch with. My son Amir did what was right. He did all the things that he was supposed to do.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy and officiate the funeral, which will begin at 11 a.m. local time at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis.
(NEW YORK) — Legislation introduced in the Tennessee state legislature this month is raising alarms from the state’s police union and gun control advocates who say it could turn the streets into the “old West.”
Two bills in the state assembly and state senate, HB 254 and SB 2523, would amend Tennessee law and designate “a person who has been issued an enhanced handgun carry permit” as a member of law enforcement.
“As introduced, expands the definition of ‘law enforcement officer’ to include a person who has been issued an enhanced handgun carry permit; provided, that the permit is not suspended, revoked, or expired, for purposes of authority to carry a firearm under certain circumstances,” the summary for the bill reads on the Tennessee General Assembly website.
There are currently 686,348 active enhanced handgun carry permit holders in the state, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which issues the permits. A spokesperson for the department declined to comment about the proposed legislation.
Although the legislation doesn’t yet have any hearings scheduled and the assembly version has only one co-sponsor, it’s already getting pushback, including from a police union who says it could ultimately lead to more gun violence.
Jonathan Gold, a Michigan-based firearms instructor and member of the non-profit Giffords Gun Owners for Safety, told ABC News the bill would encourage more vigilantism that would ultimately lead to more harm.
“I don’t understand our regression to the old West, because this is what it feels like,” he told ABC News. “I’ve studied the old West, and I don’t think anyone wants to go back to the murder rate of Tombstone.”
Under Tennessee’s gun rules, an adult civilian resident can apply for an enhanced gun permit, which allows for both open and concealed carry, by paying a $100 fee and providing an eight-hour handgun safety course certificate.
Several groups of residents can get an exemption to the training, including registered armed guards, members of the military and veterans, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
State Rep. Christopher Hurt, the lead sponsor for the state House bill, didn’t immediately respond to messages from ABC News for comment. A representative for state Sen. Joey Hensley, who introduced the state Senate version of the bill, told ABC News in a statement that “the bill only allows you to carry a gun where police can, but it does NOT make you a police officer.” The representative did not provide more clarification.
The Tennessee State Lodge for the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents Tennessee state police, told ABC News in a statement that it is “adamantly opposed to this bill in its current form.”
Lodge President Scottie DeLashmit said police officers in the state spend “spend countless hours” on the gun range honing their marksmanship skills and must qualify annually with the same weapons.
He added that officers also spend hours training in “driving, criminal law, defensive tactics, etc.”
“These vigorous standards are in place to ensure officers are familiar with their weapons,” DeLashmit said in the statement. “The enhanced handgun carry permit training is far less demanding than anything required from a cadet attending a basic law enforcement academy.”
Neither Hurt nor Hensley have any formal experience in law enforcement, according to their official bios.
Gold, who has trained both civilians and law enforcement officers in gun use for over 20 years, said that knowledge of the criminal justice system is critical for being effective in any law enforcement capacity.
The majority of officers never brandish their guns and even fewer fire them in the line of duty, according to Gold. A 2017 survey by Pew Research Center found that 27% of officers reported firing their weapon during their career.
Paul Kemp, the co-founder of the grassroots group Gun Owners for Responsible Gun Ownership, told ABC News he believes the Tennessee legislation is part of a growing trend around the country that is encouraging legal vigilantism.
“It seems to pander to the gun lobby’s idea that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he told ABC News.
States across the country have introduced “stand your ground” laws and altered state codes to expand self-defense laws for when people use their guns.
Leaders in various states who have supported those laws contend that gun carrying residents have the right to protect themselves and their properties.
Tennessee’s self-defense code states that “a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is in a place where the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat before threatening or using force against another person when and to the degree the person reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful force.”
Kemp said the bill’s current lack of details would likely lead to confusion among civilians and law enforcement that could lead to more violence and legal headaches.
“I would find it difficult for law enforcement to distinguish between a civilian with an enhanced gun permit and a perpetrator or person they want to subdue,” Kemp said.
As of Wednesday, there hasn’t been a hearing set for the bills in either body of the Tennessee Legislature.
Kemp said even if the Tennessee Legislature doesn’t move forward with the bill, he believes similar ones may soon appear in other statehouses, given the recent rise in gun purchases and the trend of lawmakers scaling back gun control laws.
Gold said more law enforcement agencies need to speak out against the bills and convince lawmakers that deputizing civilians with little to no training — and, more importantly, he said, follow-up trainings — will do nothing to curb crime.
“If I’m going to carry life and death in my hands, I’m going to be an expert at it or I’m not going to do it at all. There is no middle ground,” he said.
