Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright after mistaking her gun for a Taser, has been sentenced to two years behind bars.
A jury in December convicted 49-year-old Potter on counts of first- and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the d£adly incident, which unfolded during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis part of Brooklyn Center.
On Friday, February 18, she was imprisoned for two years, which is far less than the standard of about seven years for manslaughter, after a judge said leniency was warranted because the officer had meant to fire her Taser and not her gun.
She’ll be required to serve for 16 months and will be eligible for release any time after with good behavior.
The remaining time would be served on supervised release, and Potter was credited for already serving 58 days.
“To those who disagree and feel a longer prison sentence is appropriate, as difficult as it may be, please try to empathize with Ms. Potter’s situation,” Hennepin County Judge, Regina Chu said after handing down the sentence, adding that Wright’s life “mattered.”
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Potter pulled over 20-year-old Wright the night of April 11, 2021 for expired plates, only to quickly realize he also had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant out for his arrest.
Officers attempted to take him into custody, but he escaped their grasp and managed to get back into the driver’s seat of his vehicle. Footage from Potter’s bodycam then shows the officer yelling “Taser, Taser” before she shot Wright, who was Black, with her firearm.
Wright was able to drive only a short distance before crashing nearby. He was pronounced d£ad on the scene, while his girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat at the time, was injured.
Judge Regina Chu said a suspect without criminal history, like Potter, would typically get a sentence between just more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years.
“Of all the jobs in public service, police officers have the most difficult one. They must make snap decisions under tense evolving and ever-changing circumstances.
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