Officer in Minneapolis-area shooting fired fatal shot after mistaking gun for Taser, police say

A police officer in Minnesota who shot a black man during a traffic stop mistook her gun for a Taser, police said Monday.

In an afternoon press conference, officials played body camera footage from the shooting Sunday.

Tim Gannon, chief of police for Brooklyn Center, outside Minneapolis, said the motorist, Daunte Wright, 20, died as a result of the "accidental discharge"  of a firearm by the officer, who has been placed on administrative leave.

The bodycam footage showed Wright stepping out of his car, then jumping back in and driving off.

"Oh s***," the officer is heard saying on the video. "I just shot him!"

Video of the incident, in the backdrop of the third week of the George Floyd trial in Minneapolis, shows two other officers approaching Wright's car and the officer who fired the shot standing behind them," according to USA Today.

Ex-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin faces murder and manslaughter charges in connection with the May 2020 death of Floyd, a black male, while in police custody.

"As the officer on the driver side of the vehicle begins to handcuff Wright, a struggle ensues and Wright appears to reenter the driver side of the car. The officer is heard shouting, 'Taser,' before she shoots Wright. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy her Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said.