The former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright while yelling “Taser” during a traffic-stop-turned-arrest outside Minneapolis was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.
A Minnesota jury found Kim Potter, 49, guilty late last year of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April shooting in Brooklyn Center.
The first-degree manslaughter charge carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine and a presumptive sentence of six to eight-and-a-half years.
But Hennepin County District Court Judge Regina Chu opted to give Potter a lighter sentence than recommended by state sentencing guidelines.
Potter, who has already served 58 days, is expected to serve 16 months in prison and a third of her sentence on supervised release. Minnesota offenders typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and one-third on supervised release, according to The Associated Press.
Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother, said the family was “very disappointed” in the ruling. “Today, the justice system murdered him all over again,” Wright said. “This isn’t okay. This is the problem with our justice system today. White women tears trumps justice.”
Arbuey Wright, Daunte’s Wright’s father, said he felt “tricked,” “cheated” and “hurt.”
“We actually thought we was gonna get a little justice,” he said.
Attorney Ben Crump said Wright “did not get the consideration that he deserved.”
“We saw Derek Chauvin get convicted. We saw Kim Potter get convicted. So I think we all allowed ourself to believe for a moment that there could be an equal justice system,” Crump said. “When we have sentences like this, it makes it difficult to make those arguments.”
In her ruling, Chu said “there will be those who disagree” with the sentence. She called on people to “try to empathize” with Potter.
“This is a cop who made a tragic mistake. She drew her firearm thinking it was a Taser and ended up killing a young man,” Chu said, adding, “She never intended to hurt anyone. Her conduct cries out for a sentence significantly below the guidelines.”