All those interviewed for this story agreed that Sean Potter, a white police officer, did not shoot Wright because he was black. He panicked and reacted the wrong way,'' Wright's mother said. Officer Mercardante declined to comment for this story and efforts to reach Potter were unsuccessful. Beginning with Lumpkin's appointment as chief in 1997, new police recruits receive five weeks of additional training after graduating from The Northeast Georgia Police Academy. Asked if such a shooting could ever happen again, Lumpkin said, ''You can't ever say never.
Police deal with humans, and human responses are different.
At first I had a lot of hatred toward those police officers. I tell my children, 'We can't say we love Sean Potter and Mercardante, but we don't wish any harm to them. I wouldn't know Sean Potter if he walked in the door. I don't hate him. I have people coming up, talking about Edward.