Damik Wright (C) brother of Daunte Wright celebrates at George Floyd Square after the verdict is announced.
A former US police officer has been found guilty on two charges of the manslaughter of a young African-American man after claiming she mistook her gun for her Taser.
Kim Potter was charged with first and second-degree manslaughter on Thursday over the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota in April this year.
Potter, who broke down last week on the stand as she testified to her remorse for the shooting, showed little emotion as Judge Regina Chu read the verdict.
Judge Chu ordered Potter be taken into custody and held without bail. She is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2022.
Potter, 49, faces about seven years in prison on the most serious count under the state’s sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they would seek a longer-term.
READ MORE: Minnesota officers resign two days after police killing of Daunte Wright
'Taser Taser Taser'
The former policewoman had pleaded not guilty and claimed the shooting was an accident, saying she mistakenly grabbed her firearm instead of her Taser stun gun.
On Sunday, April 11, 2021, the white policewoman was patrolling with a colleague who decided to look up the driver of a white Buick that had committed a minor traffic violation.
After realising that the driver was the subject of an arrest warrant, the police officers decided to arrest him.
Wright, who was unarmed, resisted being handcuffed and restarted his car to try to flee. Potter then drew what she said she thought was her Taser.
On a body-camera recording of the scene, Potter can be heard shouting "Taser" several times, before shooting with her gun and fatally wounding 20-year-old Wright.
READ MORE: Minnesota sports teams postpone games after Daunte Wright's shooting
Protests against police brutality
The incident came during the trial of white policeman Derek Chauvin, who had asphyxiated Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 by kneeling on his neck for some nine minutes.
Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
Wright's death also triggered several nights of protests and unrest in Brooklyn Center before Potter's own arrest calmed tensions.
Outside the courthouse, a group of people chanted "Say his name! Daunte Wright." Some held yellow signs that said "guilty" in large block letters.
READ MORE: Curfew in Minneapolis after police killing of Black man
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