Kim Potter, Who Killed Daunte Wright, Sentenced to 24 Months, Fine on Manslaughter Convictions

Kiara Alfonseca andNadine El-Bawab, ABC News wrote:Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter was sentenced to 24 months and a fine of $1,000 on Friday, Feb. 18 following her conviction in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop.

Potter will serve 16 months in prison and the remaining eight months on supervised release, a sentence far below what the prosecution sought. Judge Regina Chu acknowledged the sentence was a "significant downward departure" from sentencing guidelines.

"This is one of the saddest cases I have had in my 20 years on the bench," Chu said when delivering the sentence. "Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically, but she never intended to hurt anyone."

Chu said she received "hundreds" of letters in support of Potter, all of which she said she had read.

The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter -- 10 years and a $20,000 fine.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Arbuey Wright, Daunte Wright's father, described how upset he is with the sentence Potter was given.

"I walk out of this courthouse feeling like people are laughing at us because this lady got a slap on the wrist and every night we are still waiting around crying, waiting for my son to come home," he said.

Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Wright family, 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."

"Today's sentencing of Kim Potter leaves the family of Daunte Wright completely stunned. 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," Crump said in a statement.

Before the sentencing, Katie Ann Wright, Daunte Wright's mother, delivered an emotional and tearful impact statement Friday, asking the judge to give Potter the maximum sentence.

"I will never be able to forgive you for what you have stolen from us," she said, while addressing Potter during her statement. "You took his future."

"My life and my world will never be the same," she said.

In her statement, Katie Ann Wright said she would not be able to give Potter sympathy.

"How do you show remorse when you smile in your mug shot after being sentenced to manslaughter, after taking my son's life?" she asked.

Katie Ann Wright told the judge that Potter left her family's world with "so much darkness and heartache."

She said that Potter never once said her son's name, only referring to him as "the driver," which she saw as dehumanizing her son, she said.

"I will continue saying your name until driving while Black is no longer a death sentence," she said.

In a tearful statement, Potter tearfully apologized to the Wright family and responded to them calling her out for "never looking at them."

"I didn't feel like I had the right to look at any of you," Potter said. "I am so sorry that I hurt you so badly."

A Minnesota jury convicted Potter, 49, of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021, incident. She had pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Arbuey Wright told the court the killing of his son was because of Potter's recklessness.

"She was a police office longer than my son was alive," Arbuey Wright said during his impact statement.

"She also damaged my whole family's heart. Nothing will be the same. Everything we do as a family ends in tears because all we have is memories left of our son," he said.

Daunte Wright's sister Diamond Wright also addressed the court, saying how difficult the loss of her brother has been.

"I never thought that my brother would be killed by the same people we are supposed to feel protected by," Diamond Wright said. "I feel like I have been living in a complete nightmare."

She had also asked the judge for the maximum sentencing.

"You can't tell me this was an accident, it is in plain sight," she said. "How come I have to see my brother in a metal container just to talk to him"

In a court filing on Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office announced they sought 86 months, or 7 years and 2 months, prison time for Potter. Sentences in the state are served concurrently, so Potter only would have served the higher sentence.

The prosecution had also asked that in the event the court sentences Potter to probation, that she serve at least one year in prison "to reflect the seriousness of Daunte Wright's death," and that the probation last at least 10 years, according to court documents.

Potter fatally shot Wright after initially pulling him over for an expired registration tag on his car. She then determined he had an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge and tried to detain him, according to former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, who resigned after the incident.

As officers tried to arrest him, Wright freed himself and tried to get back in his vehicle. That's when, according to Potter's attorneys, she accidentally grabbed her firearm instead of her stun gun and shot him.

Wright's death reignited protests against racism and police brutality across the U.S., as the killing took place just outside of Minneapolis, where the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was taking place at the time.

Potter took the stand on the last day of her trial, breaking down in tears and apologizing. "I'm sorry," she said through sobs, "I didn't want to hurt anybody."

The jury deliberated for about four days before reaching a verdict on Dec. 23.

"Let The Punishment Fit The Crime" -- William Schwenck Gilbert

"Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth, Hand for Hand, Foot for Foot" -- Exodus 21:24

The Associated Press News Staff wrote:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prison intake photo of Kim Potter that showed her smiling widely after she was convicted of manslaughter in Daunte Wright’s death flared up at her sentencing Friday, with Wright’s mother saying it showed Potter wasn’t genuinely sorry for his death.

Potter’s attorney said no disrespect was intended and Potter was simply doing as instructed by the prison staff.

Katie Wright brought up the mug shot as she addressed the court. Potter, then a Brooklyn Center police officer, said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Wright last April. A jury convicted her in December.

Katie Wright said Potter never looked at her and other Wright family members as they passed in the hallway during the trial, and when she testified, expressed sorrow only after a break where she “had time to be coached on how to gain some sort of sympathy from the jury.”

“How do you show remorse when you’re smiling in your mug shot after being sentenced to manslaughter? After taking my son’s life? How do you say you’re sorry with no tears?” Katie Wright said.

Damik Bryant, Daunte Wright’s brother, also called the mug shot “painful” and urged the judge to impose a “strong sentence.”

Defense attorney Paul Engh began his remarks by responding to the Wright family’s anger.

“There’s no disrespect intended to the booking photograph,” he said. “Ms. Potter indicates they asked her to smile, she smiled. It was not meant to be disrespectful, it was in response to the prison’s request.”

When Potter was given a chance later to address the court, she addressed the Wright family directly, saying she was “so sorry that I brought the death of your son.” She also told Katie Wright that she felt she didn’t believe she “had a right to” look at her during the trial.

“I understand a mother’s love, and I’m sorry I broke your heart,” Potter said.

Potter is white. Wright, who was Black, was killed after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.

Judge Regina Chu later sentenced Potter to two years, well below prosecutors’ request, saying that mitigating factors warranted it.