- Former Brooklyn Center Sgt. Mychal Johnson testified in ex-cop Kim Potter's manslaughter trial on Friday.
- Potter is on trial for manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
- Johnson told the court he would've been "probably dragged" if Wright had successfully fled in his car.
Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter's ex-supervisor testified Friday that he would've likely been injured if Daunte Wright successfully fled the traffic stop where Potter fatally shot him.
Potter, who is white, is facing first- and second-degree manslaughter charges for the shooting death of Wright, a Black man. Potter has pleaded not guilty and claimed that she intended to grab her Taser, not her gun.
The defense is hanging a large part of its argument on the fact that former Brooklyn Center Police Sgt. Mychal Johnson was reaching into Wright's car from the passenger side as Wright tried to drive away from the traffic stop. Potter's defense said in opening statements that she tried to tase Wright because he was putting Johnson's life in danger.
"She can't let him leave because he's going to kill her partner," defense attorney Paul Engh had told the jury on Wednesday.
On Friday, defense attorney Earl Gray asked Johnson what would have happened to him if Wright had successfully "taken off with you in that car halfway."
"Probably dragged," Johnson responded.
"Dragged and what?" Gray asked, to which Johnson responded, "injured."
Gray then asked Johnson if he thought that he might have died if Wright had successfully driven the car away. Johnson said, "yes."
Wright's car traveled down the street and collided with another vehicle after Potter shot him. But Johnson testified that he pulled his body out of the car beforehand, after he heard a loud "pop." Johnson said that he thought the loud noise came from a Taser.
Footage from Johnson's body camera that was played in court shows Potter say, "Shit, I just shot him," to which Johnson responds, "you did?"
The body camera video also shows Potter say, "I'm going to prison," while collapsing to the ground after the shooting. Johnson responds in the footage, "Kim, that guy was trying to take off with me in the car."
In court, Johnson said he did not remember telling Potter that Wright was "trying to take off" with him in the car.
Wright's girlfriend, Alayna Albrecht-Payton, was in the passenger seat. Albrecht-Payton testified on Thursday that Wright did not have his hands on the steering wheel and did not have control of the car after Potter shot him, though his foot was on the gas pedal.