The former Minnesota cop who shot and killed Daunte Wright in suburban Minneapolis after mistaking her gun for her Taser has been found guilty.
On Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, jurors deliberated for 27 hours before convicting ex-cop Kim Potter guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter. When the decision was delivered, Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant, sobbed audibly, according to CNN. Wright’s father, Aubrey Bryant, consoled her.
On April 11, 2021, other officers in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, pulled over Wright, 20, for expired tags and an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, which is a violation of the law, just a few miles from where George Floyd was infamously murdered by convicted murderer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on Memorial Day 2020.
Officers learned Wright had an arrest warrant, and Potter arrived quickly. When police attempted to detain Wright, he squeezed his way back into his car and was about to drive away.
“Taser!” Potter can be heard yelling on the bodycam at that point. Taser! Taser! Potter, on the other hand, had her service weapon in her hand when she fired the trigger, striking Wright and killing him as he drove a short distance down the street.
Potter, 49, will be sentenced on February 18, 2022. For first-degree manslaughter based on negligent use or handling of a firearm, she faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. Potter, however, may face a prison sentence of six to nine years, according to CNN, because she has no previous past.
On the second-degree manslaughter charge, Potter may be sentenced to around three years according to the same guidelines.
