Judge sentences Kim Potter to 2 years for killing Daunte Wright
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MINNEAPOLIS (NewsNation Now) — Kim Potter, the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she mistook her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.
The penalty is below state guidelines after judge Regina Chu found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence. Potter was convicted in December of first-and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, 20.
Potter was sentenced only on the more serious charge in accordance with state law.
For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state guidelines on that charge range from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years.
Prosecutors said the presumptive sentence was proper, but defense attorneys asked for a sentence below the guidelines, including a sentence of probation only.
Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant, said Friday she will never be able to forgive Potter for shooting and killing her son.
“She never once said his name. And for that I’ll never be able to forgive you. And I’ll never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us,” a tearful Bryant said. “A police officer who was supposed to serve and protect so much took so much away from us. My life and my world will never ever be the same again.”
“Daunte Demetrius Wright, I will continue to fight in your name until driving while black is no longer a death sentence,” she added.
Wright was killed after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin’s trial for the killing of George Floyd, sparked several days of demonstrations and protests around the country.
FILE – This photo provided by Ben Crump Law, PLLC. shows Daunte Wright and his son, Daunte Jr., at his first birthday party. Wright, 20, was fatally shot by Kim Potter, a white suburban Minneapolis police officer, during a traffic stop on Sunday, April 11, 2021. Potter is currently on trial for manslaughter in Wright’s death. (Ben Crump Law, PLLC. via AP) 
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 23: A person holds a sign as they demonstrate outside the Hennepin County Government Center on December 23, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jury deliberations are ongoing in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who is charged with manslaughter in the April 2021 shooting death of Daunte Wright. Potter says she thought she was using her Taser when she shot Wright with her handgun. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) 
Protesters wear bathrobes in support of Samira Hassan, who was arrested for unlawful assembly while wearing her bathrobe, and march while holding up posters of Daunte Wright during a sixth night of protest near the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Centre, Minnesota on April 16, 2021. – Police officer, Kim Potter, who shot dead Black 20-year-old Daunte Wright in a Minneapolis suburb after appearing to mistake her gun for her Taser was arrested April 14 on manslaughter charges. (Photo by Kerem Yucel / AFP) (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images) 
Protesters gather alongside the family of Daunte Wright outside of the Hennepin County Government Center on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, in Minneapolis. Former Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter, who is white, is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting of Wright, a Black motorist, in the suburb of Brooklyn Center. Potter has said she meant to use her Taser — but grabbed her handgun instead — after Wright tried to drive away as officers were trying to arrest him. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) 
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 20: Ashley Dorelus demonstrates in support of Daunte Wrights family outside the Hennepin County Government Center on December 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jury deliberations are ongoing in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who is charged with manslaughter in the April 2021 shooting death of Daunte Wright. Potter says she thought she was using her Taser when she shot Wright with her handgun. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
