Judge allows video coverage of Kim Potter trial

A Hennepin County judge has reversed her decision to ban cameras from the courtroom during the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who is charged in the death of Daunte Wright.

In August, District Judge Regina Chu denied initial requests from media and state prosecutors asking for audio-visual coverage of the trial. The coalition of local and national media outlets — including Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns KSTP — filed a new motion in October requesting cameras in the courtroom. Chu granted that request on Tuesday.

In her initial ruling, Chu argued that the COVID-19 pandemic will have subsided enough by the start of the trial, scheduled for Nov. 30, for reporters to be present in the courtroom. "That has not turned out to be the case," Chu wrote in Tuesday’s filing.

Chu pointed to rising COVID-19 infection numbers in Minnesota, the 1,122 current hospitalizations — the highest such total since 2020 — and the 10% COVID-19 positivity rate.

"If this year’s iteration of the pandemic follows the same trajectory as that in 2020, infection rates may very well double by the date of trial," Chu wrote.

The judge also acknowledged that her decision comes following an incident at her home in which protesters were seen calling for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom during the trial for the sake of transparency.

In her ruling Tuesday, Chu said the decision to allow cameras was made prior to the protest and that they are now being permitted solely for health and safety reasons surrounding the ongoing pandemic.

"The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we must have an independent judiciary and judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing, protests or attempts at intimidation," Chu wrote. "… The Court’s decision most emphatically is not a reflexive response to recent protests at the presiding judge’s home."

Potter’s defense has objected to the use of cameras in the courtroom on grounds of due process protections. Chu, however, disagreed with the argument that televising the proceedings would impede her right to a fair trial.

The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin earlier this year for the murder of George Floyd was the first jury trial in Minnesota history to allow cameras in the courtroom. District Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the Chauvin trial, also cited the pandemic and public interest as grounds for allowing audio-visual coverage.

Following Cahill’s decision, Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea called for a committee to examine the state’s policy on cameras present at criminal trials.

Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter after she shot and killed Wright during an April 11 traffic stop in Brooklyn Center. Body camera footage of the encounter shows her yelling out, "Taser! Taser! Taser!" while pointing her firearm at Wright.