Former police officer Kim Potter will be sentenced early next year after a Minnesota jury found her guilty Thursday of first- and second-degree manslaughter in …
Former police officer Kim Potter will be sentenced early next year after a Minnesota jury found her guilty Thursday of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. Potter, who is white, shot and killed 20-year-old Wright, who was Black, while attempting to arrest him during a traffic stop on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis. She and a trainee officer said they pulled Wright over because he had a blinker on in the wrong turn lane, expired tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. They attempted to detain him after discovering a warrant for his arrest and an order of protection against him. During the struggle, Potter,49, shot Wright with her handgun while repeatedly yelling “Taser.” The shooting occurred during the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd just miles from the courthouse. Wright’s death sparked days of protests and looting in Brooklyn Center and inflamed nationwide tensions over police violence in the U.S. Like Chauvin, Potter was sent directly to state prison to await sentencing after the jury reached a verdict following 72 hours of deliberations. Hennepin County District Court Judge Regina Chu denied a request from Potter’s defense attorney to release her on bail until sentencing, which is set for Feb.18,2022. The first-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine.
