Jurors at Kim Potter trial to resume work Wednesday

Jurors in the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright were to begin their third day of deliberations Wednesday, after a question to the judge suggested some are concerned they may not be able to reach agreement.

The jury asked Judge Regina Chu Tuesday afternoon how to proceed if they can't reach a verdict. The question came after roughly 12 hours of deliberations that began Monday, and the judge told jurors to continue their work.

Former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter, who is white, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter. If convicted of the most serious charge, Potter, 49, would face a sentence of about seven years under state guidelines, though prosecutors have said they will seek more.

Potter said she meant to use her Taser on Wright rather than her gun, and jurors had a second question for Chu: Could Potter's handgun, given to them along with her Taser as exhibits, be freed from the zip ties holding it in an evidence box so they could handle it?

Prosecutors had presented evidence on the differences between the gun and the Taser, including weight, feel, size, color. Prosecutor Erin Eldridge had said in her closing argument that the jurors would be able to hold them, "to get a feel for the two, and to get a sense of all those differences that you heard about in court, and see for yourselves how different they really are."