Kim Potter, the police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, resigned from her position on Tuesday.
“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” Potter wrote in the letter, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Elliott announced her resignation in a press conference on Tuesday.
It seems that Potter’s resignation was a preemptive strike as she was likely about to be fired from her position.
Mayor Elliott seemed to confirm this. During the press conference, he told reporters that “in order for us to make that decision we were going through our own processes to make sure that internally we had all of the documents in order to be able to do that, but the officer resigned.”
Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned Tuesday.
Potter was one of the officers attempting to arrest Wright after pulling him over for an expired tag. Potter was heard on the police bodycam yelling at Wright to stop and threatening to taser him. She instead reached for her gun –fatally wounding him.
And while it’s clear that the 26-year veteran of the force should not have kept her job… should Potter have been allowed to resign from her position before going through the due process?
The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”
Because of Kim Potter, Daunte Wright was deprived of his.
As Potter has served more than 20 years in service, she would likely be entitled to receive her pension. After claiming the life of an unarmed victim while “accidentally” discharging her weapon, she should not then be rewarded by getting a full pension.
Former Buffalo police officer Cariol Horne fought for 15 years to get her pension reinstated after being fired in 2006 after trying to stop her partner from choking a suspect. Horne was fired just months before she would qualify for her pension.
And she was doing the right thing.
So often, with police killings, the officers are not brought to justice. At least, not in any meaningful way. Potter killed a man. A 20-year-old father. Because in a moment of hysteria, she could not determine the difference between a gun and a Taser.
Potter’s resignation is an affront to the justice system and should not have been accepted until a full investigation had reached a conclusion or before a trial outcome.
All eyes are now on Mayor Elliott to see whether he will keep his word and ensure that justice prevails.
