On Sunday, Apr. 11th, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a white officer. The officer, Kimberly Potter, an officer of 26 years, claimed that she had supposedly intended to use her taser but fired her pistol instead.

Despite the weight differences in the item; a standard 9mm weighs over four times that of a stun gun. The guns issued by the department had trigger safeties. Additionally, officers are instructed to holster their gun opposite to their taser so they can instinctively tell between the two.

“She is a 26-year veteran she should know the difference between the size and weight of a taser and gun,” Rylan Miller (11) said. “She’s been on the force for 26 years and doesn’t know which side she puts her taser on? That’s just not true. She might have said taser, but she knows the difference between the two.”

Some disagree with this view, citing that the officer of 26 years was undertrained to handle this situation.

“She was obviously under-trained,” Austin Gregory (11) said. “Her service weapon and taser have very similar grips and with the adrenaline pumping, she was unable to distinguish the two apart.”

Even more, students disagree, citing her experience and length of service is more than enough for her to know a taser from a gun. 

“No, she’s been an officer for 26 years, it’s not an accident that she killed him,” Grace Nguyen (10) said.“If she can’t tell the difference between a taser and a gun, that is on her and she should be charged with manslaughter at the least because of it.”

While the majority of people agree this was easily avoidable, especially given her experiences, it transitions into the real question of was it racially motivated? 

“I’m tired of things like this happening,” Carah Woods (11) said. “I’m really tired of going on social media and seeing that another Black person has been killed at the hands of the police.”

The facts were he did not have a gun and was actively running away when she killed him. There was no threat to safety. 

“Well if he was running away and not trying to hurt anyone then she could’ve ran and tackled him or just tazed the guy,” Nathan Morris (12) said. “I think this wasn’t an accident if she’s had experience for 26 years. I think she wanted him dead for a personal motive.”