A judge sentenced former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter to two years in prison for the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright last year.
Potter will serve 16 months in prison and the remaining time on supervised release if she doesn’t get any disciplinary violations in prison following her guilty verdict on two manslaughter charges last December. The sentence is significantly lighter than the 25-year sentence and $50,000 fine she could have faced if given the maximum sentence on both counts, much to the disappointment of Wright’s family.
“Of all the jobs in public service, police officers have the most difficult one,” said Judge Regina Chu during Friday’s sentencing. “They must make snap decisions under tense evolving and ever-changing circumstances. They risk their lives every single day in public service. Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically.”
Potter was given credit for the 58 days she already served in prison before her sentencing. She will also have to pay a $1,000 fine and has the right to appeal her conviction.
HOLDING TASER AND GUN A ‘KEY TURNING POINT’ IN KIM POTTER VERDICT, JUROR SAYS
Wright’s family asked the court to give her the maximum sentencing possible, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case, filed a memo on Tuesday suggesting she should face 86 months in prison.
“Defendant has failed to establish that her conduct in recklessly handling her firearm and shooting Daunte Wright in the chest was ‘significantly less serious than that typically involved in the commission of the offense.’ … The Court should deny her motion for a downward durational departure,” he wrote.
But during the sentencing, Chu argued that Potter deserved a lighter sentence than typical for manslaughter charges.
“This is one of the saddest cases I’ve had on my 20 years on the bench. 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 said. “I find the facts and circumstances here justify a downward departure from the guidelines.”
Chu cited Potter’s remorse, the fact that she mistakenly killed Wright, and testimony from experts that said the use of a taser during that traffic stop incident was justified. She said she read hundreds of letters of support for Potter and was deeply moved by remarks from Wright’s mother and other family members throughout the trial.
“I will never be able to forgive you for what you have stolen from us,” Wright’s mother said to Potter during her remarks. “You took his future.”
An emotional Potter apologized to Wright’s family during the sentencing.
“I pray for Daunte and all of you many, many times a day. He is not more than one thought away from my heart, and I have no right for that, for him to be in my heart,” she said. “And I do pray that one day you can find forgiveness, only because hatred is so destructive for all of us. And I pray that peace will always be with you and your family.”
Potter pleaded not guilty to both manslaughter charges but was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 23, 2021, after about four days of deliberation. In April of last year, she pulled Wright over because he had an expired registration tag on his vehicle. She then determined that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and officers smelled marijuana in his car.
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The warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court for a gross misdemeanor weapons violation due to carrying a gun without a permit in June 2020, Fox News reported. There was also a protective order against him from an unnamed person. Officers attempted to arrest Wright during the stop, but he attempted to flee, at which point Potter accidentally shot him.
