Ex-Police Officer, Kim Potter Sentenced To Two Years For Fatally Shooting Daunte Wright

By Florence Cornelius On Feb 18, 2022

A Minnesota judge has on Friday sentenced former police officer, Kim Potter to two years in prison over the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright.

Hennepin County Judge, Regina Chu handed down the punishment for the former Brooklyn Center police officer, less than what prosecutors sought.

The ruling was made after emotional courtroom statements from the victim’s loved ones and the defendant herself.

Chu ordered Potter to spend two-thirds of her sentence behind bars and one-third of it on supervised release. She’s already served 58 days behind bars, which will go to her credit.

The judge added that Potter deserved less than the 86-month sentence sought by prosecutors because the officer was trying to use her Taser and not her gun.

Chu further stated that she knows her ruling will be unpopular, stressing;

I recognize there will be those who disagree with the sentence; that I granted a significant downward departure, does not in any way diminish Daunte Wright’s life.

The judge said she’s never seen a case like this before, adding;

This is one of the saddest cases that I’ve had in my 20 years on the bench.

Outside court, the victim’s mother, Katie Wright, said;

The justice system murdered him all over again. This isn’t OK. This is the problem with our justice system today. White women’s tears trumps, trumps justice. And I thought my white woman tears would be good enough because they’re true and genuine.

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Ben Crump, an attorney for the family, was particularly angered by Potter’s sentence, compared to the 57-month punishment against former Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor.

Noor, a Somali immigrant, was convicted of shooting a 911 caller, mistaking her as a threat to his partner.

Crump expressed;

He was remorseful but they didn’t make a downward departure for the Black police officer like they made for this white policewoman. And that’s problematic for many people of color in America. That we continue to see this intellectual justification.

Before sentence was issued, Wright’s mother asked a judge to send her son’s killer to prison, telling Potter that she’ll “never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us.”

Katie Wright told the court;

Daunte Wright is my son, my baby boy and I say ‘is’ and not ‘was’ because he will always be my son and I’m proud to say that. Daunte’s smile was genuine and big, just like his dreams. You took them. You took his future.

Potter, 49, has been in custody since just before Christmas last year, when jurors convicted her of first-degree manslaughter for the April 11, 2021, slaying of 20-year-old Wright in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Wright was pulled over and police tried to arrest him on an outstanding weapons charge when he tried to get back into his car.

During a brief struggle, Potter — with a Glock holstered her right, dominant side, and her Taser on the left — pulled the firearm and fatally shot Wright.

The former officer testified in her own defense, saying the shooting was an accident and that she had meant to pull her non-lethal Taser.

Potter has been held in isolation for her own protection, the defense said.

The death of Wright by a white officer sparked renewed protests and calls for justice in and around Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.

Wright was gunned down about 10 miles north of the courthouse where former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin was tried for killing George Floyd.

Days later, Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.

The May 25, 2020 killing of Floyd, a Black man, touched off a summer of national protests against police brutality and institutional racism.

Potter’s trial was held in the same courtroom where Chauvin was tried.