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The white Brooklyn Center police officer charged with manslaughter in the 

 a Black man, said she meant to use her Taser to try to stop him from fleeing during an attempted arrest but accidentally grabbed her gun instead.

Prosecutors argue that Kimberly Potter, who quit the Brooklyn Center police force two days after the shooting, committed first- and second-degree manslaughter when she killed the 20-year-old Black man during an April 11 traffic stop. Here's a look at the charges and potential penalties:

Under Minnesota law, first-degree manslaughter in this case means prosecutors allege that Potter caused Wright's death while committing the misdemeanor of 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 alleges that she caused his death “by her culpable negligence, whereby Kimberly Potter caused an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm to Daunte Demetrius Wright, while using or possessing a firearm.”

Neither charge requires prosecutors to prove Potter intended to kill Wright.

added the first-degree manslaughter charge

 after it took over the case, though it fell short of the murder charge that Wright's family and activists wanted.

According to the complaint, the officer Potter was training, Anthony Luckey, told Wright they stopped him for the air freshener hanging from his car's rearview mirror and because it had expired license plate tabs. But Luckey ran a check and found that Wright had an outstanding arrest warrant for a weapons violation, so the officers returned to Wright's car to arrest him.

Wright obeyed Luckey’s order to get out, but as Luckey was handcuffing him, Wright pulled away and got back in. As Luckey held onto Wright, Potter said “I’ll tase ya.” Potter's body camera video then shows her holding her handgun in her right hand and pointing it at Wright. Potter repeated “I’ll tase you,” and then two seconds later said “Taser, Taser, Taser.” One second later, she fired a single bullet into Wright’s chest.

“(Expletive)! I grabbed the wrong (expletive) gun,” Potter is heard saying. “I’m going to go to prison.”

The maximum for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years; for second-degree, it's 10 years. But Minnesota judges follow sentencing guidelines that normally call for less — just over seven years for first-degree, and four years for second-degree.

Prosecutors have said they’ll seek a longer sentence due to aggravating factors, which is what they did in former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial for killing George Floyd.

Who are the jurors in the trial of Kimberly Potter?

The longest sentences that could conceivably stick on appeal are double the top of the guidelines range. But that's more than the statutory maximum of 15 years for first-degree manslaughter, so 15 years would be the cap for Potter if she's convicted. The realistic maximum on the lesser charge would be 9 1/2 years.

Presuming good behavior, Minnesota offenders typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and one-third on supervised release.

judge in Chauvin's case sentenced him to 22 1/2 years

 for second-degree unintentional murder. The presumptive sentence was 12 1/2 years. Judge Peter Cahill found several aggravating factors, including that Chauvin abused his position of authority and treated Floyd with particular cruelty, and that several children witnessed the crime live. He also said Chauvin knew that kneeling on Floyd's neck was dangerous.

Judge Kathryn Quaintance resentenced former Minneapolis Officer Mohamed Noor

 to four years and nine months in prison for second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Justine Damond Ruszczyk, which was at the top of the guidelines' range. She said she did so because Noor shot “across the nose” of his partner and endangered others. She couldn't sentence him to more because prosecutors didn't request an “upward departure” from the sentencing guidelines.

Quaintance originally sentenced Noor to 12 1/2 years for third-degree murder, which was what the guidelines called for, but the Minnesota Supreme Court later clarified the definition of third-degree murder and sent the case back for resentencing only on the manslaughter charge.

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The killing of Daunte Wright

Steve Karnowski, Associated Press

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Prosecutors argue that Kimberly Potter, who quit the Brooklyn Center police force two days after the shooting, committed first- and second-degree manslaughter when she killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during an April 11 traffic stop.

Jury selection for Kimberly Potter's trial begins Tuesday.

Jury selection begins soon in ex-cop Potter's trial. Here's what to know.

A vigil and march in honor of Daunte Wright

Kerem Yücel for MPR News

A woman in an orange shirt for a mugshot.

Explainer: What are the charges ex-cop Kimberly Potter faces?

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