The jurors also asked the court to remove the zip ties securing the weapon from the evidence box so that the handgun could be kept during deliberations.
Judge Regina Chu, after re-reading the earlier directive, sent the jurors back for further deliberation.
“If you can do so without violating your individual judgment, you should discuss the matter with each other and deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement,” the judge said.
“You should decide the case for yourself, but only after discussing the case with your fellow jurors and considering their views carefully.”
Chu allowed the zip ties to be removed so that the gun—which he said was unloaded and completely safe—could be handled by a jury.
They have deliberated for more than 13 hours.
Potter, 49, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree and second-degree murder charges.
As shown in the video of the incident, Potter repeatedly shouted “Taser” before shooting Wright with his handgun. Then he said, “Holy sh*t! I just shot him!” He said: “I grabbed the wrong f**king gun, and I shot it.” A few days later he resigned from the department.
The core of the case is the jury’s interpretation of Potter’s fatal error – was this, as the prosecution argued, due to his carelessness and negligence? Or was it an unfortunate accident that did not rise to the level of crime, as the defense argued?
More than 30 witnesses, including Potter himself, took the stand during the trial’s eight days of testimony. An emotional Potter testified for hours and burst into tears at times when she described the “chaotic” moments that led up to the shooting.
“I was feeling very upset. I just shot someone. I’m sorry that happened,” she said, crying in court. “I’m sorry.”
Under cross-examination, Potter stated that Wright had not threatened officers before firing. She said she didn’t remember much about what happened after the shooting, but admitted she didn’t help treat Wright’s injuries or investigate her fellow officers.
The potter was far from a wicked officer. He testified that before that day he had never deployed his taser or fired a handgun in the line of duty, and had never held any grudge against him.
In closing arguments, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Erin Aldridge argued that Potter made a series of poor choices during a traffic stop that led to a fatal mix-up.
“Accidents may still be crimes if they were caused by negligence or culpable negligence,” the prosecutor said. “It is not a defense of alleged offences.”
The defense has termed the murder as an unfortunate accident which should not be treated as a crime.
“Everybody makes mistakes, no one is perfect,” Attorney Earl Grey. “This woman has made a mistake and a mistake is not a crime.”
They also argued that Potter was within his rights to use lethal force to protect a fellow officer, who was approaching the vehicle when Wright attempted to drive.
“Even though she didn’t know she was using it, she had a right to it, and that’s the law,” he said.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Ashley Kilo, Karma Hassan, Brad Parks and Anna-Maja Rappard contributed to this report.
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