EXPLAINER: How does an officer use a gun instead of a Taser?

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

At former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter’s manslaughter trial for fatally shooting Daunte Wright, a Black motorist, the core of her defense is clear: She says she meant to use her Taser but grabbed her handgun instead. Experts say such cases are rare, but they do happen. Similar cases have been reported in recent years in California, Oklahoma and Missouri. Bill Lewinski studies police psychology and has used the phrase “slip and capture” errors to describe the phenomenon. Lewinski says officers sometimes perform the direct opposite of their intended actions under stress. Other experts say a major factor in why officers mistakenly draw their firearms is that stun guns typically look and feel like a firearm.