A judge has sentenced Kim Potter, the former suburban Minneapolis police officer convicted of fatally shooting Daunte Wright, to two years in prison.
Judge Regina Chu explained that the short sentence was warranted because Potter was “in the line of duty and doing her job in attempting to lawfully arrest Daunte Wright.”
“This is one of the saddest cases I’ve had on my 20 years on the bench,” said Chu. “On the one hand, a young man was killed and on the other, a respected 26-year veteran police officer made a tragic error by pulling her handgun instead of her Taser.”
Chu added, “This is not a cop found guilty of murder for using his knee to pin down a person for nine and a half minutes as he gasped for air,” she said. “This is not a cop found guilty of manslaughter for intentionally drawing his firearm and shooting across his partner and killing an unarmed woman who approached his squad.”
Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the Wright family, issued the following statement:
“While there is a small sense of justice because she will serve nominal time, the family is also deeply disappointed there was not a greater level of accountability,” the statement said. “The Judge’s comments at sentencing showed a clear absence of compassion for the victim in this tragedy and were devastating to the family.”
In December, Potter was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, meaning she improperly used “such force and violence that death of or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.”
She was also found guilty of second-degree manslaughter charge because the jury found that she took “unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.”
On April 11, 2021, officers pulled Wright over, claiming who his tags had expired but discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest for having a firearm without a permit. He was not armed at the time.
Potter can be heard yelling, “I’ll Tase you. Taser! Taser! Taser!” while holding a pistol in the police bodycam footage. Wright returns to his vehicle and attempts to drive away when the officer shoots him. He crashed into another vehicle after driving several blocks.
Prosecutors had requested seven years and two months.
Potter apologized to Wright’s family, ahead of sentencing: “I am so sorry that I brought the death of your son, father, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew, and the rest of your family,” she told them, adding, “I’m sorry I broke your heart>”
