Minneapolis, Minnesota - Opening arguments began on Wednesday in the trial of ex-cop Kim Potter over the killing of Daunte Wright.

Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black resident of Minneapolis, was in his car when Brooklyn Center PD cops pulled him over in April for having expired license plates and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. During that traffic stop, they found he had an outstanding warrant.

Unarmed, Wright tried to get back in his car as police attempted to arrest him. That's when Kim Potter pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger.

The victim's car traveled for several blocks after the shooting before hitting another car. Wright was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Potter said the shooting was unintentional and she had mistaken her gun for her taser.

She had been on the force for 26 years.

The incident sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests, as Minneapolis residents were already reeling from the high-profile police killing of George Floyd.

Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter over her role in the incident. If convicted, she could receive up to 10 years behind bars.

The prosecution opened the highly anticipated trial on Wednesday by focusing on body-camera footage of the killing, the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutor Erin Eldridge argued that during Potter's 26 years as a police officer, she had participated in numerous trainings on taser usage.

That instruction included requirements that officers carry their gun on their dominant side and taser on their non-dominant side. The fact that Potter drew with her right means she could only have reached her firearm, the prosecution noted.

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"This is exactly what she had been trained for years to prevent," Eldridge said. "But on April 11, she betrayed her badge and she failed Daunte Wright."

Potter's defense countered by saying it was an innocent mistake. They told the mostly-white jury that all Wright had to do was surrender in order to avoid what happened to him.

Wright's mother, Katie Bryant, also took the stand to share her memories of the day. She had tried to video call her son, but a female passenger picked up and yelled, "They shot him!"

The passenger then turned the camera toward Wright's body. "And my son was laying there. He was unresponsive and he looked dead," Bryant recalled while crying.

Prosecutors pointed out that it's not necessary to prove Potter meant to kill Wright in order for her to be convicted. Nevertheless, the defense argued that deadly force was necessary if Potter believed her fellow officers were in danger, as they are trying to say was the case.

Considering the high-profile nature of the case, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he would be ready to deploy the National Guard once a verdict is reached.