I do tend to think that Potter made a mistake, as people fuck up a lot, especially when they are in stressful situations. Lots of jobs are very stressful. Having said that, I think that 2nd degree manslaughter is an appropriate charge. When someone makes a deadly mistake, even if it was an accident, they are still expected to take responsibility. So, to give a very different example, if a surgeon cuts off your left leg, when it was your right leg that was the one that was impaired, the surgeon did this by accident due to his own carelessness. The surgeon still will need to take responsibility for his mistake. Malpractis, loss of license etc.
Sometimes we get too emotional when we discuss things like this. What happened is a horrible tragedy, especially for the family of Daunte, but horrible accidents happen all the time in all kinds of situations, so I think Potter deserves to be charged, and then a jury can decide her fate. Whatever happens, her career is over, and she will live with the guilt for the rest of her life for the dreadful error that she made.
But, the real problem is greater than the police who end up killing or harming innocent people, or people who have only been suspected of committing minor crimes. The entire policing system is in need of a complete over haul, not just reform, but over haul. Yes. We need police, but they need to be paid well, trained well, and be screened for their ability to respect the residents of the area where they serve. They should be respected too, but they need to earn that respect. I also think that the police should be required to live in the district where they serve, so they feel part of the community and not on a combat mission. It's the system that needs to change.
And, while I agree that our Black citizens are treated much more harshly that people like me, the fact is that an awful to of us with pale skin also fear the police. My 69 year old sister was stopped by a cop last year, for the crime of not moving fast enough when the light turned green. She's always had a bit of ADD. She was probably day dreaming when the light changed. The cop didn't ticket her, but her did harass her verbally. Why couldn't he just have given her a light beep beep on his horn, like I do when someone doesn't realize the light has changed. I could go on all day, but hopefully some of you get the point. Something needs to be done to change this. Or is hopeless? I'm not sure anymore.
