Former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison for the manslaughter conviction in the death of Daunte Wright.
As you will recall from our extensive trial coverage, Potter accidentally fired her firearm when she meant to fire her Taser.
You can watch the entire proceeding here.
Daunte Wright’s mother gave a statement:
Potter also gave a statement:
Potter was sentenced to 2 years:
The NY Post (h/t Right Scoop) summarizes the statements, including a post-hearing statement by Wright’s mother:
“This is one of the saddest cases I’ve had on my 20 years on the bench,” Judge Regina Chu said Friday. “This is a cop who made a tragic mistake.”Potter will be eligible for supervised release after 16 months in prison, Chu ruled.The sentence angered Wright’s parents, his father calling it “a slap on the wrist.” Prosecutors had asked Chu to give Potter a seven year bit.Chu was quick to differentiate Potter from other officers convicted in recent killings, most notably Derek Chauvin, the officer convicted of murder for kneeling on George Floyd“She never intended to hurt anyone,” Chu said of Potter. Had Potter in fact pulled her Taser, Chu said, that use of force would have been legitimate….She addressed Katie Wright, Daunte’s mother, directly.“Katie, I understand a mother’s love, and I am sorry I broke your heart. My heart is broken for all of you.”“Earlier when you said that I didn’t look at you during the trial, I don’t believe I had a right to.”“I am so sorry that I hurt you so badly,” she said, her voice breaking.“He is not more than one thought away from my heart,” Potter said of Wright. “And I have no right for that, for him to be in my heart.” …At a press conference following the sentencing, however, Wright’s mother said she found Potter insincere.“White women’s tears trump justice,” Katie Wright, who is also white, said. “I thought my white-woman tears would be enough.”
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