- A juror who convicted Kim Potter told KARE that the ex-cop seemed remorseful when she testified in her defense.
- Potter was convicted on manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Daunte Wright during an April traffic stop.
- The juror asked KARE not to identify them "because of the amount of public animosity involved with the case."
A juror who convicted former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter said they thought Potter was being genuinely remorseful when she broke down in tears as she testified in her trial over the shooting death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man.
A juror from the case spoke out for the first time publicly on Wednesday in an interview with KARE. The juror asked KARE not to release their name because of "the amount of public animosity involved with the case."
A 12-person, mostly white jury convicted Potter on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges on December 23, after deliberating for 27 hours. Potter had said that she intended to grab her Taser when she shot Wright in the chest during a traffic stop in April.
The juror who spoke with KARE said that the former police officer seemed like she was "fighting for her life" when she took the stand in her own defense, "and we understood why she would be."
The anonymous individual said they were "surprised" that some people did not think Potter's tears in court were real, telling KARE that her crying on the stand felt "very real and tangible to me."
"She seemed very upset and apologetic," the juror said.
Prosecutor Erin Eldridge told the jury in closing arguments that "this case is not about whether the defendant is sorry or whether she's remorseful." During the trial, prosecutors continually reminded the jury that manslaughter is a crime, even if it's a mistake, a tactic that a legal expert told Insider was smart.
The juror told KARE that after listening to Potter's testimony, they thought she seemed like a "good person and even a good cop." But the juror still felt Potter had committed a crime.
"We felt like she was a good person. We felt she made a mistake and that a mistake does not absolve you from the fact she did commit a crime," the juror told KARE. "Being a good person doesn't mean you're above the law. I don't think anyone felt she wanted to kill anybody that day."