Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright on Sunday when she mistakenly pulled her gun instead of her Taser has now resigned, as well as BCPD Chief Tim Gannon.
The resignations come as police departments take another look at their Taser policies and training to prevent other officers from making the same mistake.
The case is reminiscent of the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station. The officer who shot and killed Grant also said he had intended to use his Taser.
Grant’s death sparked national outrage and protests and was the most high-profile case of the kind at that time.
“Accidentally pulling your gun instead of your Taser had already happened maybe seven or eight times before the BART incident,” said retired BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey, who took over the department after Grant’s death and worked to usher in reforms.
Rainey says the need for better Taser training is clear.
“Training is crucial in these types of situations. When you get a new weapon system, how you roll it out, develop policy around it and training is essential."
Rainey says officers typically carry their Tasers on the opposite side of their holster from their gun. Tasers are also lighter with different grips and usually have fluorescent markings to distinguish them. Guns also have a safety, and Tasers do not.
But despite all of that, Rainey says in the heat of the moment officers are likely to reach for their gun by instinct.
“We go to the range at least - depending on your department, BART, the agencies that I have worked at – you go the range a lot more, it’s a lot more training with your firearm than with your Taser. So when you’re in a stressful situation like that, it goes back to muscle memory, what you’ve trained most on.”
That is why Rainey advocates for more emphasis on Taser training.
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