MORROW, Ga. (AP) — A specially appointed prosecutor said Tuesday that he will not pursue any charges against the Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks more than two years ago.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, announced that he won’t pursue charges against Garrett Rolfe, the white officer who shot and killed the 27-year-old Black man in June 2020.

Skandalakis was appointed last year to take over the case after a judge allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to recuse herself and her office. Willis had cited concerns about the actions of her predecessor, Paul Howard, who announced a murder charge against Rolfe less than a week after the shooting.

Police responded on June 12, 2020, to complaints of a man sleeping in a car in the drive-thru lane of a Wendy's restaurant. Police body camera video shows the two officers having a calm conversation with Brooks for more than 40 minutes. Then, when the officers told Brooks he'd had too much to drink to be driving and tried to arrest him, Brooks resisted in a struggle caught on dash camera video. Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran. Rolfe fired his gun, and an autopsy found that Brooks was shot twice in the back.

The two officers' lawyers have said their actions were justified and both were released on bond.

The shooting happened against the backdrop of heightened tensions and protests nationwide in wake of the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis less than three weeks earlier.

Sometimes-violent protests over Floyd's death had largely subsided in Atlanta, but Brooks' killing set off a new round of demonstrations against police brutality. Police Chief Erika Shields resigned less than 24 hours after Brooks died. Protesters set fire to the Wendy's restaurant, which was later demolished.

Rolfe was fired a day after the shooting, but his dismissal was overturned in May 2021 by the Atlanta Civil Service Board. The board found that the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary actions.

Five days after Brooks was killed, then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard held a dramatic news conference to announce charges against Rolfe and Brosnan. Rolfe's charges included felony murder, aggravated assault and violation of his oath. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath.

Two months later, Howard lost the Democratic primary in his bid for reelection. Just weeks after taking office in January 2021, his successor, Fani Willis, asked Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reassign the case.

Willis, who has since gained national attention for her investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia, cited concerns about Howard's actions.

Howard’s conduct, “including using video evidence in campaign television advertisements,” may have violated Georgia Bar rules, Willis argued in a letter to Carr. She also noted that Carr had asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into whether Howard improperly issued grand jury subpoenas in the Rolfe case. Howard has denied wrongdoing.

Noah Pines, an attorney for Rolfe, had also filed a motion to disqualify the Fulton County district attorney's office from the case.

Carr initially refused to reassign the case, but in July 2021 appointed Skandalakis to take it over after Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Christopher Brasher found there was a conflict of interest and granted a request from Willis to recuse her office.

Police said officers fatally shot a man threatening them with a butcher knife following a stabbing in southern California last week, but the man's family is seeking answers.

According to a Huntington Park Police statement, officers encountered a victim with knife wounds who described a Black male in a wheelchair assaulting them. The victim told police the attack was unprovoked. Although the victim ended up with life-threatening injuries, they could point officers toward a suspect.

The police statement said it then encountered the suspect, who advocates identify as 36-year-old Anthony Lowe. He was reportedly armed with a 12-inch butcher knife. The police statement claimed that Lowe ignored commands to drop the knife, threatened police with the weapon and a stun gun was ineffective before officers fatally shot him.

Police have not released body camera footage of the incident, which can sometimes differ from the official account given by police.

An unclear cellphone video posted on social media of the incident indicated Lowe attempted to run from police before getting shot. Footage of the actual shooting has not surfaced as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Coalition for Community Control Over the Police held a news conference outside police headquarters on Monday, calling for answers.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Lowe had his legs amputated after a previous altercation with police

"They murdered my son, in a wheelchair with no legs," mother Dorothy Lowe told reporters. "They do need to do something about it."

A spokesperson for the family told CBS News that Lowe was undergoing a mental health crisis at the time of the incident.

The officers were placed on administrative leave. The Huntington Park Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department – Homicide Bureau, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office are all investigating the incident.

The victim of the original stabbing remained in critical condition, as of Monday.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Two Louisiana sheriff's deputies face manslaughter charges in connection with a fatal shooting last week near New Orleans.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said late Sunday that the two likely feared for their lives when a man refused to exit a vehicle during a tense confrontation on Feb. 16.

The gunfire erupted after the man turned on the engine, then dropped his hands onto the wheel, striking the horn.

Lopinto said an investigation determined that the deadly force used could not be justified.

Lopinto said 29-year-old Isaac Hughes and 35-year-old Johnathan Louis cooperated in the investigation and surrendered to face charges.

Both were fired from the sheriff's office.

Lopinto said officers had responded to a noise complaint outside a known crack house when they encountered Daniel Vallee, the Associated Press reported.

Lopinto said the officers asked, begged, and threatened Vallee to get out of the vehicle.

Vallee turned off the car engine, but when he turned it back on, Lopinto said that's when "numerous" deputies drew their weapons.

Lopinto said once one deputy responded to the car horn with gunfire, a second deputy responded to that gunfire by also firing his weapon.

Charges were filed after the body camera video was viewed and all the deputies involved had been interviewed.

A person was killed and another was injured in a shooting at a grocery store in Richland, Washington, authorities said.

The Richland Police Department said they are looking for the suspect who left the Fred Meyer store after the shooting.

"He is believed to be armed and dangerous," police said in a statement.

Police say the suspect is a middle-aged white man.

Police said they responded to the store at 11:30 a.m. after getting reports of people yelling and possible gunshots within the store.

Police have not released any information about the victims.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said in a tweet that special agents are assisting the local police department.

CHICAGO (AP) — The former Chicago police officer who was convicted in the shooting death of Black teenager Laquan McDonald has been released from prison after serving less than half of his sentence.

Camile Lindsey, chief of staff for the state Department of Corrections, said in an email that Jason Van Dyke was released at 12:15 a.m. Thursday from the Taylorville Correctional Center, in central Illinois.

Van Dyke, who is white, was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in October 2018. He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. According to CNN, he was released early due to good behavior.

The conviction came about three years after a judge ordered the city to release video footage that showed Van Dyke firing 16 bullets into the teenager’s body.

Some people, including top elected lawmakers, have reportedly called for Van Dyke to be prosecuted at the federal level.

However, according to CNN, some members of McDonald's family are ready to move forward.

"We never asked for revenge, we asked for justice. And in the case of Jason Van Dyke we feel we got justice, because he got prosecuted for the crime that he did. He did not do the amount of time that we felt like he should have done, but he did get prosecuted," McDonald's great-uncle, Rev. Marvin Hunter, told CNN.

MINNEAPOLIS —

Related video above: Kim Potter trial jurors ask how to proceed if they can't agree

Jurors on Thursday convicted a suburban Minneapolis police officer of two manslaughter charges in the killing of Daunte Wright, a Black motorist she shot during a traffic stop after she said she confused her gun for her Taser.

The mostly white jury deliberated for about four days before finding former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. 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.

Potter, who testified that she “didn’t want to hurt anybody,” looked down without showing any visible reaction when the verdicts were read.

Potter, who is white, shot and killed the 20-year-old Wright during an April 11 traffic stop in Brooklyn Center as she and other officers were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge. The shooting happened at a time of high tension in the area, with former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin standing trial just miles away for the killing of George Floyd. Potter resigned two days later.

Jurors saw video of the shooting that was captured by police body cameras and dashcams. It showed Potter and an officer she was training, Anthony Luckey, pull over Wright for having expired license plate tags and an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror. During the stop, Luckey discovered there was a warrant for Wright’s arrest for not appearing in court on the weapons possession charge, and he, Potter and another officer went to take Wright into custody.

Wright obeyed Luckey’s order to get out of his car, but as Luckey tried to handcuff him, Wright pulled away and got back in. As Luckey held onto Wright, Potter said “I’ll tase ya.” The video then shows Potter holding her gun in her right hand and pointing it at Wright. Again, Potter said, “I’ll tase you,” and then two seconds later: “Taser, Taser, Taser.” One second later, she fired a single bullet into Wright’s chest.

“(Expletive)! I just shot him. ... I grabbed the wrong (expletive) gun,” Potter said. A minute later, she said: “I’m going to go to prison.”

In sometimes tearful testimony, Potter told jurors that she was “sorry it happened.” She said the traffic stop “just went chaotic” and that she shouted her warning about the Taser after she saw a look of fear on the face of Sgt. Mychal Johnson, who was leaning into the passenger-side door of Wright’s car. She also told jurors that she doesn’t remember what she said or everything that happened after the shooting, as much of her memory of those moments “is missing.”

Potter’s lawyers argued that she made a mistake by drawing her gun instead of her Taser. But they also said she would have been justified in using deadly force if she had meant to because Johnson was at risk of being dragged.

Prosecutors sought to raise doubts about Potter’s testimony that she decided to act after seeing fear on Johnson’s face. Prosecutor Erin Eldridge, in cross-examination, pointed out that in an interview with a defense expert Potter said she didn’t know why she decided to draw her Taser. During her closing argument, Eldridge also replayed Potter’s body-camera video that she said never gave a clear view of Johnson’s face during the key moments.

Eldridge also downplayed testimony from some other officers who described Potter as a good person or said they saw nothing wrong in her actions: “The defendant has found herself in trouble and her police family has her back.”

Prosecutors also got Potter to agree that she didn’t plan to use deadly force. They said Potter, an experienced officer with extensive training in Taser use and use of deadly force, acted recklessly and betrayed the badge.

For first-degree manslaughter, prosecutors had to prove that Potter caused Wright’s death while committing a misdemeanor — in this case, the “reckless handling or use of a firearm so as to endanger the safety of another with such force and violence that death or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.”

The second-degree manslaughter charge required prosecutors to prove that Potter caused Wright’s death “by her culpable negligence,” meaning she “caused an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm” to Wright while using or possessing a firearm.

Under Minnesota law, defendants are sentenced only on the most serious conviction if multiple counts involve the same act and the same victim. Prosecutors had said they would seek to prove aggravating factors that merit what’s called an upward departure from sentencing guidelines. In Potter’s case, they alleged that her actions were a danger to others, including her fellow officers, to Wright’s passenger and to the couple whose car was struck by Wright’s after the shooting. They also alleged she abused her authority as a police officer.

The maximum for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years.

KENOSHA, Wis. — A Black man who was shot in the back by a white police officer in Wisconsin, triggering several nights of violent protests, says he was prepared to surrender just before the officer opened fire.

Jacob Blake said in an interview broadcast Thursday by ABC’s “Good Morning America” that his pocketknife fell from his pants during a struggle with Kenosha police who were trying to arrest him on Aug. 23 on an outstanding warrant.

He says he picked it up and prepared to put it in his vehicle. Officer Rusten Sheskey told investigators that he feared that Blake was going to stab him, so he opened fire.

A Wisconsin prosecutor last week declined to file charges against Sheskey, concluding he couldn’t disprove the officer’s contention that he acted in self-defense.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A petition seeking the impeachment of Kentucky’s attorney general was filed Friday by three grand jurors who criticized his handling of an investigation into Breonna Taylor’s shooting death by police.

The petition’s allegations against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron include breach of public trust and failure to comply with his duties as the state’s chief law enforcement official. They do not accuse him of any crimes, but impeachment is not considered a criminal proceeding.

The petition is the latest in a flurry of tit-for-tat efforts to impeach Kentucky elected officials. Four Kentucky citizens recently petitioned the state House of Representatives to impeach Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for executive actions he took in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the matter was assigned to a House committee for review.

Beshear’s actions had been upheld by the state Supreme Court, and the governor says there are “zero grounds” for his removal.

Kentucky law requires impeachment petitions to be referred to a House committee but does not require any further action. Under the state’s constitution, the House possesses the sole power of impeachment. An impeachment trial is held in the state Senate, with a conviction requiring the support of two-thirds of the senators present.

The petition against Cameron, signed by a handful of Kentuckians, was submitted to the overwhelmingly Republican Kentucky House. Cameron is a close ally of U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and is seen as a rising GOP star.

Cameron’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The petition’s signers include an attorney who did so on behalf of three grand jurors who have accused Cameron of misleading the public when describing the grand jury proceedings.

Cameron was the special prosecutor who investigated the actions of the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor during a warrant search last year. The investigation culminated in a grand jury ruling that did not charge any of the officers in the Black woman’s death. The shooting sparked protests in Louisville alongside national protests over racial injustice and police misconduct.

The petition is the latest seeking the ouster of prominent Kentucky officeholders. Another petition is seeking the ouster of Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth for an incident in which he allegedly tried to strangle a woman. Goforth, a former gubernatorial candidate, pleaded not guilty after his indictment on charges of strangulation and assault. The case is pending.

The petition against Cameron revives allegations raised anonymously by the three grand jurors. It accuses him of deceiving the public regarding his handling of the investigation into Taylor’s death.

Cameron had said in a widely viewed news conference that the grand jury had agreed that the officers who shot Taylor were justified because they were fired at by Taylor’s boyfriend. Officers fired 32 rounds into the home, five of which struck Taylor.

The three grand jurors said they did not agree and wanted to explore criminal charges, but said they were denied because Cameron’s prosecutors believed none of those charges would stick.

The impeachment petition was signed on their behalf by their Louisville attorney, Kevin Glogower.

“The grand jurors did not choose this battle,” Glogower said in a statement Friday. “This battle chose them. These are randomly selected citizens who were compelled to sit on a grand jury and were terribly misused by the most powerful law enforcement official in Kentucky.”

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Lovan reported from Louisville, Kentucky.

NASHVILLE, TENN. — The family of a woman who was shot by Nashville officers says more should have been done to deescalate the situation before she was shot.

Three Metro police officers in Nashville arrived at a home Friday night to find a woman with a pickaxe and baseball bat. The emergency call was for a suicidal individual who wanted to be shot.

The video shows one officer take the lead in trying to talk her down. He spends minutes trying to negotiate a surrender as two other officers stand by on alert. Metro police say as they talked, the woman appeared to be calm enough with no overt aggression.

But then her mother arrives and tries to intervene. Officers say that's when things escalate, taking away the option of waiting until the woman surrenders.

"Under normal circumstances where the mother does not interject...that's exactly how that would have played out," said Metro police commander Scott Byrd.

Moments later, negotiations break down and an officer deploys the taser.

"They attempted the less-lethal approach initially. But the tasers did not work. It enraged her," said Metro Chief of Staff Officer Chris Taylor.

Just under three seconds later, another officer fires two rounds from his gun. The woman collapses.

"That's unreasonable. That was quick. They didn't give the taser a chance to work," said Michael Crestman, the woman's brother.

He said he understands that his sister put officers in an incredibly difficult situation, but believes they should have waited her out.

"They knew she was suicidal. She told them to come shoot her so they did," Crestman said. "This should have been approached differently. I saw a bit of lunge, but there was distance. It would be different if she had a gun."

Byrd says the distance between the one officer and the woman armed with a large pickaxe was small. The moment she was tased, she moved forward. "It is close. When you get to someone with a long handle and the ability to reach out to it was threatening."

When she did step forward, the other officer felt he had no choice, but to shoot and end the threat. The woman was hit twice suffering a lacerated kidney, colon and injured spinal cord.

She remains in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Metro Police say they are working closely with the mayor's office and the Mental Health Co-op to come up with new and better possible responses to all mental health calls.

The officers involved remain on paid administrative leave as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigates.

This article was written by Nick Beres for WTVF.

VILLA RICA, Ga. (AP) — Georgia authorities say three officers were wounded when the passenger of a car shot them during a police chase that ended with one suspect killed and the other arrested.

The Carroll County sheriff said it began when a Georgia Highway Patrol trooper stopped a car for speeding along Interstate 20.

Authorities said the vehicle sped away again, and the passenger fired a weapon that stopped the patrol vehicle.

According to The Associated Press, the officer was shot, lost control of the vehicle, which then crashed into a utility pole.

Local police officers then joined the chase, which ended with three officers wounded.

A second officer was shot twice during the chase, The AP reported.

According to the AP, a deputy for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Officer was shot in the arm.

Sheriff Terry Langley said one suspect was killed and the other taken into custody "after a negotiation."

The AP reported that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to take over the investigation.

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. —

Warning: The above video may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades Monday night as a crowd gathered to protest the killing of a Black man by a police officer in a Minneapolis suburb.

Gunshots could be heard during the demonstrations, though it is unclear where they were being fired.

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Protesters were "launching bottles, fireworks, bricks and other projectiles at public safety officials," according to a tweet from Operation Safety Net (OSN), a joint effort of local entities to ensure the safety of the public during the trial of Derek Chauvin, being held about 10 miles away from the location in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

It was the second night of protests after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer, identified by authorities as Officer Kim Potter, during a routine traffic stop. A curfew was in effect for Brooklyn Center and police arrested those in violation who ignored dispersal orders, according to Minnesota Operation Safety Net.

By 11 p.m., most of the protesters had left the scene around the police station, according to witnesses.

The police officer who fatally shot Wright during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the city's police chief said Monday.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as "an accidental discharge." It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked violent protests in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd's death.

"I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!" the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, "Holy (expletive)! I shot him."

President Joe Biden urged calm on Monday, following a night where officers in riot gear clashed with demonstrators. The president said he watched the body camera footage.

"We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real," Biden said from the Oval Office. But, he added, that "does not justify violence and looting."

The governor instituted another dusk-to-dawn curfew, and law enforcement agencies stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.

While dozens of officers in riot gear and troops guarded the Brooklyn Center police station, more than 100 protesters chanted Wright's name and hoisted signs that read "Why did Daunte die?" and "Don't shoot." Some passing cars flew Black Lives Matter flags out of their windows and honked in support.

Organizers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wright's killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an "irreparably broken, racist system."

Wright "should not have had his life ripped from him last night. The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community who continues to grieve," said Karissa Lewis, the coalition's national field director.

Gannon said at a news conference that the officer made a mistake, and he released the body camera footage less than 24 hours after the shooting.

The footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells Wright he's being arrested on a warrant. That's when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle.

"As I watch the video and listen to the officer's command, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said. "This appears to me from what I viewed and the officer's reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright."

A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her son's girlfriend.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was investigating.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said any decision on charges against the officer will be made by the Washington County attorney under an agreement adopted last year by several county prosecutors aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest. Freeman has been frequently criticized by activists in Minneapolis over his charging decisions involving deadly use of force by police.

Gannon would not name the officer or provide any other details about her, including her race, other than describing her as "very senior." He would not say whether she would be fired following the investigation.

"I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning," the chief said.

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright."

Wright's mother, Katie Wright, said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.

"All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car," Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying "Daunte, don't run" before the call ended. When she called back, her son's girlfriend answered and said he had been shot.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting "deeply tragic."

"We're going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole," he said.

Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office "command authority" over the police department.

This "will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership," he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would be taking over his roles.

According to the city's charter, the city manager has control of the police department. Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier Monday to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get "due process."

Wright's family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family in its $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis.

"This level of lethal force was entirely preventable and inhumane," Crump said in a statement. "What will it take for law enforcement to stop killing people of color?"

Speaking before the unrest Sunday night, Wright's mother urged protesters in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis, to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son.

Biden referred to her comments on Monday, saying "we should listen to Daunte's mom calling for peace and calm." The president said he had not yet called the family but that his prayers were with them.

Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers. About 20 businesses were broken into at the city's Shingle Creek shopping center, authorities said.

To guard against more unrest, authorities accelerated security measures planned for when the Floyd case goes to the jury. Gov. Tim Walz warned anyone who chooses to "exploit these tragedies" with violence "can rest assured that the largest police presence in Minnesota history" will be prepared to arrest law breakers.

At least a half-dozen businesses began boarding up their windows along Minneapolis' Lake Street, the scene of some of the most intense violence after Floyd's death. National Guard vehicles were deployed to a few major intersections, and a handful of soldiers in camouflage, some carrying assault-style weapons, could also be seen. Several professional sports teams in Minneapolis called off games because of safety concerns.

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyd's death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict.

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Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Aaron Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report.

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Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

MINNEAPOLIS —

Video above: Daunte Wright's funeral held in Minneapolis

A former suburban Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright is scheduled to appear in court via videoconference Monday.

Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who is white, has an omnibus hearing, also known as a pretrial hearing, on Monday afternoon in Hennepin County District Court. The purpose of such a hearing is to go over evidence and determine if there's probable cause for the case to proceed.

Wright, father of a young son, was killed April 11 after a traffic stop. The former Brooklyn Center police chief has said he believes Potter meant to use her Taser on Wright instead of her handgun. Body camera video shows her shouting “Taser!” multiple times before firing. The shooting ignited days of unrest. Wright’s family members and protesters had wanted prosecutors to file murder charges.

The shooting happened amid the trial for Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder for pressing his knee against George Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe.

Police have said Wright was pulled over for expired tags, but they sought to arrest him after discovering an outstanding warrant. The warrant was for his failure to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and had a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Police body camera video shows Potter approaching Wright as he stands outside of his car as another officer is arresting him. As Wright struggles with police, Potter shouts, “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” before firing a single shot from a handgun in her right hand.

The criminal complaint noted that Potter holstered her handgun on the right side and her Taser on the left, both with their grips facing rearward. To remove the Taser — which is yellow and has a black grip — Potter would have to use her left hand, the complaint said.

Intent isn’t a necessary component of second-degree manslaughter in Minnesota. The charge — which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison — can be applied in circumstances where a person is suspected of causing a death by “culpable negligence” that creates an unreasonable risk and consciously takes chances to cause a death.

Wright family attorney Ben Crump has disputed that the shooting was accidental, arguing that an experienced officer knows the difference between a Taser and a handgun. Experts say cases of officers mistakenly firing their gun instead of a Taser are rare, usually less than once a year nationwide.

Brooklyn Center was moving toward firing Potter when she resigned shortly after the shooting. The city’s police chief also resigned, after the City Council fired the city manager.