DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-EXPLAINER-GUN AND TASER

EXPLAINER: How does an officer use a gun instead of a Taser?

At former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter’s manslaughter trial for fatally shooting Daunte Wright, a Black motorist, the core of her defense is clear: She says she meant to use her Taser but grabbed her handgun instead. Experts say such cases are rare, but they do happen. Similar cases have been reported in recent years in California, Oklahoma and Missouri. Bill Lewinski studies police psychology and has used the phrase “slip and capture” errors to describe the phenomenon. Lewinski says officers sometimes perform the direct opposite of their intended actions under stress. Other experts say a major factor in why officers mistakenly draw their firearms is that stun guns typically look and feel like a firearm.

MINNESOTA-BUDGET

Minnesota budget officials project huge $7.7 billion surplus

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota officials are projecting a whopping $7.7 billion surplus in the current state budget. Minnesota Management and Budget says strong growth in income, consumer spending and corporate profits since the initial shocks of the pandemic have driven “extraordinary revenues.” And officials say higher tax receipts should continue due to the projected improvements in the state’s economic outlook. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz says the extra money provides the means to expand economic opportunity for all Minnesotans. But Republicans are calling for tax cuts instead of more spending. The projection sets the stage for the 2022 legislative session.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

State: 98% occupancy rate in hospital intensive care units

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The number of people hospitalized in intensive care in Minnesota has reached the highest level yet during the coronavirus pandemic. The state is reporting a 98% occupancy rate in adult ICU beds when COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients are included. Nearly 350 people are receiving intensive care. M Health Fairview doctor, Andrew Olson, is urging people to get vaccinated and limit exposure in crowds. Among the 307 COVID-19 patients at M Health Fairview hospitals, 72% are unvaccinated. The delta variant is the dominant strain in Minnesota, which had the highest rate of new infections in the U.S. over the past seven days, according to data Monday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-FLOYD

Shadow of Floyd, Chauvin case hangs over Kim Potter's trial

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It’s former Officer Kim Potter who’s on trial for the killing of Daunte Wright. But the trial in the same courtroom where ex-cop Derek Chauvin was convicted earlier this year of killing George Floyd is casting its shadow over the proceedings. During jury selection last week, there was little explicit mention of Chauvin's murder trial or of Floyd's death, which sparked outrage over police brutality in the U.S. But with opening statements set for Wednesday, there are reminders everywhere. They range from some of the same prosecutors who tried Chauvin to potential jurors being asked about their fears of delivering an unpopular verdict.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Walz names long-term care sites to get Guard staffing help

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Monday sent the first three Minnesota National Guard skilled nursing teams to care facilities statewide on Monday in an effort to fix staffing woes amid the current wave of COVID-19 infections. Walz on Monday also announced plans to recruit and train at least 1,000 certified nursing assistants to deploy to long-term care facilities by the end of January. The governor also announced the opening of a fourth alternative care site this week for hospitals to send non-critical patients in order to free up space as the current surge in virus infections continues to strain hospital capacity statewide.

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE-CHIEF

Arradondo, Minneapolis chief amid Floyd fallout, to retire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced Monday that he won’t accept a third term as chief. It's a blow to a department that has been reeling since four officers were charged in George Floyd’s death. The 54-year-old Arradondo said it was time for new leadership at the department. He'll step down in January, with Mayor Jacob Frey appointing a replacement. Arradondo, the city’s first Black police chief, was promoted to chief in 2017 following the firing of his predecessor for her handling of the fatal police shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. He was seen as an agent of change in a department described by many as discriminatory toward the city’s people of color.

WINTRY WEATHER

Wintry weather causes dangerous travel in some states

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A strong storm that created blizzard-like conditions in several Upper Midwest states left behind more than a foot of snow in some places, closed an interstate and dozens of schools and contributed to numerous accidents, including one that was fatal. A slick highway in Beltrami County, Minnesota was cited in crash that killed a 20-year-old passenger in a two-vehicle collision Sunday night. In North Dakota, the Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol closed Interstate 29 from the Canadian border to Grand Forks Sunday night due to blizzard-like conditions and reopened it Monday morning. In Wisconsin, Rhinelander, Phelps and Northland Pines were among school districts that called off classes Monday.

BC-US-DAUNTE-WRIGHT-OFFICER-TRIAL-

Jury instructions sewn up in trial over Daunte Wright death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys and a judge have hammered out jury instructions for the trial of a white Minnesota police officer who said she drew her handgun by mistake when she fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright. Kim Potter is charged with manslaughter in Wright’s death in April in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Both sides met in the judge's chambers on Monday to finalize how the jury will be instructed on definitions of the law. Judge Regina Chu denied several defense requests that would have made the instructions broader to Potter's advantage. Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday. Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center police force two days after the shooting.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021