Kim Potterthe former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright last April after she said that she mistook her handgun for a rifle, was sentenced to two years in prison. And almost immediately, the family of the Black man was killed and local activists spoke out against the sketchy verdict.
“This is a step backwards many times over. This is hurtful and disrespectful to our community and the legal system at large,” said Toshira Garraway, a local activist who founded the group Family Support Families Against Violence. Police, told The Daily Beast.
“This sentence is disrespectful to Daunte Wright’s family and just a reminder that some people don’t care about us,” she added.
Potter, 49, was found guilty in December of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter during the April 11, 2021 stopover that ended the death of the 20-year-old black man. The former white police officer resigned from the police department in the Minneapolis suburb of Downtown Brooklyn as protests raged in an area that has seen a number of famous deaths of Black men. in the hands of law enforcement. Indeed, Derek Chauvin, the man who murdered George Floyd miles away, was tested at the time.
Before Judge Regina Chu sentencing, noting that Potter was likely to serve only 16 months in prison before being released on probation, several members of Wright’s family gave the victim’s testimony. They asked for a maximum sentence of 15 years because Potter “was a powerful man who betrayed her badge.”
“She took his life in a single shot in the heart, and took mine,” said Katie Wright, his mother, with tears in her eyes before telling Potter bluntly, “I would never can forgive you for what you have stolen from us. ”
After the sentencing, Wright told reporters, “Kim Potter murdered my son. Today, the justice system murdered him again. ”
Potter spoke in court before sentencing, apologizing to the Wright family and the Central Brooklyn community for the incident, which she said broke her heart.
“I am very sorry that I have hurt you so badly. My heart is broken and devastated for all of you. I pray for Daunte and all of you many times a day. I pray that one day you find forgiveness,” said Potter.
The judge appeared to be on Potter’s side, saying that the facts in the case favor going down against sentencing guidelines, noting that “the evidence is indisputable that Potter never intended to use the sentencing guidelines.” use her gun.”
“This is a cop who made a tragic mistake. She pulled out her gun thinking it was a mission and ended up killing a young man,” Chu said, then fought back tears as he explained the decision to give him a considerably low sentence because of Potter. “never intended to hurt anyone”.
But the attorneys representing the Wright family can’t seem to buy up on Chu’s logic, noting that their client is “absolutely stunned…[and]also very disappointed that there is not a higher level of accountability. “
“The judge’s remarks at sentencing clearly showed there was no compassion for the victim in this tragedy and the loss to the family. Judge Chu’s comments about Potter were more like a job recommendation than a senseless and preventable death toll of a promising life,” said attorneys, including civil attorneys general. rights Ben Crump, said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
Garraway added that although the advocacy group had always planned to hold a meeting on Friday afternoon to send Potter’s sentencing, she believes many people will join their protest “out of outrage at the verdict” this terrible.”
The sentencing just marks another chapter in the ongoing struggle against police brutality in greater Minneapolis. Just this week, hundreds of residents gathered for the funeral of Amir Locke, the 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot seconds after Minneapolis police stormed an apartment with a restraining order for a crime. the case does not concern him. Meanwhile, three former police officers continue to face a federal civil rights trial over Floyd’s murder in 2020.
All three incidents have prompted protests in a state that critics say has done little to reform de-escalation and use of force policies.
During a week-long trial last year, jurors found that Potter had been criminally negligent in an incident that began during a car stop. Testifying to her defense, Potter emotionally recounted the events leading up to Wright’s death – and even hinted that the whole event might not have started if the officer she was training hadn’t started. head stops.
“We tried to keep him from driving away. It’s all going to be chaotic,” Potter said through tears. “I remember screaming, ‘Taser! Electric gun! Electric gun!’ and nothing happens, and then [her fellow officer] told me I shot him. ”
On Friday, Potter’s attorney argued that the incident was an “intentional crime” and a “mistake” that his client had to live with every day. In asking her to only receive a suspended sentence, defense attorney Paul Engh added that Potter’s law enforcement career was over and suggested she was not a danger to the community.
But while Potter apologized for the incident and insisted she didn’t “want to hurt anyone,” prosecutors guided jurors through the events that led to Wright’s death, calling to action. her “mistake of epic proportions”.
Potter’s partner, Brooklyn Center Officer Anthony Luckey, testified during the trial that the case began when he and Potter dragged Wright in for allegedly an expired car tab. After performing a record check, Luckey said he soon discovered Wright had a misdemeanor subpoena outstanding and ordered him to step out of the car.
Body-cam footage played back in court showed Wright getting out of the car before quickly jumping inside before Luckey could get his hands on the handcuffs. Potter was then seen grabbing her shotgun with his right hand before pointing it at Wright and shouting about the mission.
About a second later, Potter fired one shot to Wright’s left before his car appeared to accelerate several blocks before crashing into another vehicle.
“Oh my God!” Potter was told about Luckey in body-cam footage that was broadcast to the jurors. “Damned! I just shot him! In another clip played in court, Potter can be seen sobbing on the ground, insisting she doesn’t know what she’s done.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Wright died of the gunshot and that his death was homicide. Prosecutors successfully convinced jurors that Potter knew the gun was on her dominant side and the operator was on her left — and had recklessly grabbed the wrong one while arresting Wright.
“Daunte’s life was cut short by Kim Potter, who said she thought she had a mission…. She broke the hearts of my whole family. Everything we do ends in tears,” Arbuey Wright, his father, said on Friday.
