Just step out of the car real quick,
okay? And I'll explain what's going on.
Don't don't.
 I'm not doing nothing.
Don't. You're tense enough, bro. Don't
do it. Don't do it. Grand.
Wait. Don't.
Don't. Don't.
 I'll
Yes.
 Okay.
 My
grand I shot him. Oh my god. A traffic
stop in the spring of 2021 turns into
chaos for the officers, the driver, and
the entire community when a fatal
mistake becomes a national flash point,
igniting a wave of unrest. As agitation
spreads throughout the city, the
tensions between the police and the
public erupt and the world watches to
see what justice will look like in this
explosive case.
This is the America we live in now. I
got this war zone.
 The following report
is based on official police records, and
some of the footage has never been seen
before until now. On April 11th, 2021,
two officers in Brooklyn Center,
Minnesota stop a car when they notice
expired tabs and an obstruction hanging
from the rearview mirror.
 Oh, sakes,
dude.
 Really?
Move forward.
You're going to stop right here. Officer
Kimberly Potter takes up position at the
rear of the car as her trainee, Officer
Anthony Lucky, approaches the door.
 Hey,
what's going on, man? You got a driver's
license and proof of insurance for me at
all?
You don't have a driver's license? Okay.
What's your name? You're Dante? Okay,
gotcha. Well, there's a couple things.
Here's why I stopped you. The air
freshener hanging down there.
Yep. Can't do that. And then uh other
question is uh your tabs. Yeah, just
keep looking for the uh insurance and
then I'm going to write your name, date
of birth. All right.
 The man they've
pulled over is 20-year-old Dante Wright
and a young woman named Elena is in the
passenger seat.
Uh I wanted to say he was lying, but I
think he's honestly telling the truth.
So,
 as the police run Dante's
information through the system, Dante
calls his mom for advice.
 He calls me
and he says, "Mom, I I just been pulled
over." And I said, "For what?" Like that
was just my first response. Like, "What
did you do?" And he said, "Um, he said I
had air fresheners in the window or in
the rearview mirror." And then I said,
"Okay, well, take them down." He was
like, "You think I'm in trouble?" I was
like, "I no, you're not in trouble. What
would you be in trouble for?"
 But what
the police find shifts the course of
this traffic stop.
 Just run him as
Dante, right? No, just run him like you
were in DBS. Just don't put all that
other information in.
 See what it gives
you.
status suspended. Male state records
hit.
 See, you don't want to code for
yourself.
 He's got a gross misdemeanor
warrant and there's an OFP for a female.
So, I need to ID her. There's also
residue uh like weed on the middle
console. So, probably search car.
Apparently, the car is his brother's.
You want to tell him what the uh
warrant's for?
 Warrant is for
the weapons violation. The officers who
have now been joined by a sergeant
return to arrest Dante, taking the first
steps toward an encounter that will end
in disaster.
 Say step on out.
 Hey,
Dante. All right, man. Here, do me a
favor. Just step out of the car real
quick, okay? And I'll explain what's
going on.
You can just put your phone on the
dashboard there. Okay.
And then the paper.
 I'll explain all
that in a second. Okay. Just turn
around.
 Put your hands on your back.
You didn't tell you're under arrest,
don't they?
 Okay. So, you are going to
be under arrest. Okay.
 You do have a
warrant. So,
don't don't don't.
 I'm not doing
nothing.
 Don't you're tense enough, bro.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Keep your hand
back.
Wait. I'll tease you.
 But Officer
Potter's taser is holstered on the left
side of her belt. She reaches to the
right, tragically grabbing her 9 mm
instead.
 I'll tase you. Taser. Taser.
Taser.
 But the next sound is not the
electric crackle of a taser, but the
loud report of a single gunshot. Dante
Wright is instantly aware of what
happened.
 Ah, he shot me.
[Music]
I just shot him.
 You did?
 Yes.
 Okay.
 I
grab I shot him. Oh my god.
 Okay, Kim,
sit down. The booming sounds from down
the street are from Dante's car smashing
into an oncoming SUV before rolling to a
stop at an intersection a block away
from the initial incident. One cop is
already on the scene, and soon there
will be many others.
Start more units quick. We're going to
need additional units.
 Oh my god.
Oh my god.
 I got a gun in prison.
[Applause]
Kim, that guy was trying to take off
with me in the car.
 But Officer Potter
is inconsolable and the news isn't
improving.
 The driver is not breathing
according to the passenger.
 Oh my god.
What have I done?
What have I done?
No one out there.
[Music]
At the crash scene where the police
response is growing by the second. Elena
gets out of the car as the officers
prepare to move in on Dante. Few, if
any, of them know exactly what happened
here. We heard over the radio that
Brooklyn Center officers there was a
possible shooting. Took the mail out of
the driver's seat and begin performing
first aid on them.
 Paramedics quickly
arrive at the scene as well, but little
can be done.
 As I approached, I believe
they stopped doing CPR. I checked a
pulse on his right kurateed for what I
was aiming at about 10 seconds. I moved
over to the left kurateed to check over
there as well. I did not feel a pulse.
Dante Wright is pronounced dead at the
scene. And while it's not clear if
officer Potter immediately received the
news, a Henipin County Lieutenant finds
her in a worrying state.
[Applause]
She was just saying repeating some
things and you know I honestly I just
told her to stop talking. She repeatedly
kept saying that she wanted to die
again. How my conclusion came that there
was something critical that took place.
I'm going to prison. I'm going to I want
to die. Just let me die. I talked to her
sergeant twice and on the second time he
finally listened to me telling I I said
you need to take her gun from her cuz I
just I didn't know the whole realm of it
but I knew it wasn't good. Officer
Potter is led to an ambulance where
she's checked out before being
transported back to the police station.
Officer Potter, of course, is far from
the only person experiencing trauma from
the day's events.
 I went outside
screaming like I was just so distraught.
My neighbors heard me. And my neighbor's
like, "No, I'll drive you." And there
was so much traffic and I was like, "Oh
my god, I can't." I got out of the car
and I started running, but it was so far
away. So, I had to get back in the car
and I couldn't go any further. I just
need yellow tape.
 In the meantime, cops
from several departments and
jurisdictions have blanketed the area
and many still have very little
knowledge about what happened.
 Hi there.
Uh, no. I I don't have all the details.
I just replaced my partner about 5
minutes ago. I haven't heard about any
officers being hurt at all, but I I
don't know any details. When Dante's mom
finally gets to the scene, she's
confronted with the same lack of
answers.
 I finally got into the yellow
tape and the police officers were
stopping me. I'm like, "Oh my god, is
that my son?" And I seen the car that we
just gave my son two weeks ago was
smashed up with another car. And I was
like, "Oh my god, was he in an
accident?" And Brooklyn Center police
officers were talking to me and they
said they had no information. They don't
know what happened. They said, "Well, I
know what happened. I was on the phone.
You shot my son." The sight of this many
police cars has attracted attention, and
it's not long before the mood grows
hostile.
Me, you're the one that's yelling out a
window while you're driving.
 These
people don't even know what happened. I
don't even know what happened. And
they're threatening to hurt people.
Unbelievable.
 But the atmosphere
surrounding police shootings is tense in
the spring of 2021. And that tension is
perhaps especially palpable here in
Brooklyn Center, where less than 10
miles away, Derek Schovin is on trial
for the 2020 death of George Floyd. And
as news breaks out about Dante's
shooting, the gathering crowd begins to
take the shape of a full-fledged
protest.
Hold the space. Hold the space. Text
people to come and
Avenue North. Lee Avenue North. Get
people here. Do not be do not be
violence. Get these things. Do not be by
them. I want you to fight them. Get
people here right
now. Right now, do not go.
The reason why they have so many pimps
out here is because they know.
[Music]
But the growing unrest at the scene of
Dante's shooting is only the first
glimpse of what is in store for Brooklyn
Center. As the day turns into night and
news of the incident continues to spread
throughout the community.
Riot squads gather at the police station
as the protests spread and troubling
reports come over the radio.
 From
Minneapolis, a female state of looting
of Walmart will be happening soon and
hung up on us.
 And as temperatures rise
across the city, it's perhaps inevitable
that some protesters are detained.
 My
phone is ringing. Can you see who that
is, please? You don't have to answer it,
but can you tell me who it is? cuz it
might be my mom and she gonna be very
disappointed in me.
Oh
man. I thought I was doing the right
thing.
This whole shot was breached.
It's looking real great outside. It
looks like you guys got it all in
control.
 Even as the protests turn
chaotic in some areas, police must also
confront destruction and theft
throughout the city. I'll be honest with
you, I got no idea what to do here. I
mean, everything around here is getting
looted.
 The wide net of property damage
and looting sends the cops to multiple
businesses throughout the night as they
struggle to keep up with sporadic
outbursts of criminal activity.
 You
better get the home. Get the home. Y'all
better get home.
Drop
the police. You're under arrest. Come
on. Your hands up.
They probably just ran out of here. That
kid looks like he's about 8 years old.
Wow. This is the America we live in now.
My god. War zone.
 The local unrest
continues throughout the following week.
And the city reports that they've
handled at least 200 calls ranging from
burglaries to property damage. According
to officials, more than 140 businesses
are damaged, including several instances
of arson. In the midst of the ongoing
protests and community reaction, Officer
Potter resigns from the Brooklyn Center
Police Department on April 13th, two
days after the shooting. The following
day, she is arrested and charged with
seconddegree manslaughter in the death
of Dante Wright.
 So, um Yep. I'm just
going to You know the
 I know.
 I know. I
know. You know, I'm very sorry.
Just uh let's just face this way just
for the sake of it. I'm just going to
pat everything down. Do you have
underwire on? No, I just sports bra.
Okay,
 there's no pockets.
Just kick your leg like a little bit.
Thank you.
 As she arrives at the jail,
Potter has an emotional exchange with
the officer escorting her.
 I'd give you
a hug, but that's probably not allowed.
What's that?
 I can't give you a hug.
It's probably not allowed.
 Yeah. Just I
just be aware that once you walk in the
door, everything is recorded. So, just
be and and phone calls and everything.
Just I'm sure you know that. I'm just
Okay. and we'll make this as quick and
clean as possible.
 In September, the
Minnesota Attorney General added
first-degree manslaughter to her
charges. At trial, Potter told the jury
that she had never before used her taser
or her gun on duty in her 26 years of
policing and insisted that she didn't
want to hurt anybody that day. Dante's
mother posted a message on Facebook
calling for accountability. just seeing
my son laying there looked to me like he
was dead and I sat there and watched my
son sit on the corner for an hour an
hour. That was my day. I watched my son
underneath a yellow tent for seemed to
be like a lifetime.
 Kimberly Potter was
convicted of first-degree manslaughter
and sentenced in February 2022. The city
of Brooklyn Center agreed to pay Dante
Wright's family a lawsuit settlement of
$3.25 25 million in June 2022.
[Music]