Former police officer Kim Potter sentenced to 2 years for fatally shooting Daunte Wright

A Minnesota judge on Friday sentenced former police officer Kim Potter to two years for fatally shooting Daunte Wright.

Former police officer Kim Potter sentenced

Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu handed down the sentence for the former Brooklyn Center police officer after emotional courtroom statements from the victim’s loved ones and the defendant herself.

Potter was ordered to serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison, or 16 months, according to state law. With good behavior, she will be eligible for supervised release for the remaining third. She’s already served 58 days behind bars, which will go to her credit.

Judge Chu’s decision

Chu said Potter deserved a lesser sentence than the 86-month sentence prosecutors sought because the officer was trying to use her Taser and not her gun. Prosecutors had requested seven years.

“I find the facts and circumstances here justify a downward departure from the guidelines,” said Chu, adding that said she understood her ruling would be unpopular.

“This is one of the saddest cases that I’ve had in my 20 years on the bench,” Chu said.

Chu noted that despite the “highly unusual” case, accountability must be held.

“Potter is a cop who made a tragic mistake,” the judge added. “She drew her firearm thinking it was a Taser, and ended up killing a young man.”

Impact Statements

Wright’s mother asked the judge to send her son’s killer to prison, telling the convicted former police officer that she’ll “never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us.”

“Daunte Wright is my son, my baby boy and I say ‘is’ and not ‘was’ because he will always be my son and I’m proud to say that,” the victim’s mother, Katie Wright, told the court ahead of sentencing.

“Daute’s smile was genuine and big, just like his dreams. You took them. You took his future.”

Daunte’s father, Arbuey Wright, said his son was his everything and the family’s world has been shattered.

Kim Potter also made an emotional statement saying she was sorry.

“I am so sorry that I brought the death of your son, father, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew, and the rest of your family,” adding, “I’m sorry I broke your heart.”

“I do pray that one day you can find forgiveness,” the former officer said, “only because hatred is so destructive to all of us.”

Kim Potter sentenced: family shocked

The Wright family is shocked by the sentence their attorney Ben Crump said.

“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,” their attorney Ben Crump said in a statement. “The Judge’s comments at sentencing showed a clear absence of compassion for the victim in this tragedy and were devastating to the family.”

Potter was convicted of fatally shooting Daunte Wright by a jury of her peers in December 2021.

Wright was stopped for a minor traffic violation. After running his name, police found that he had a warrant for missing court. While Potter and a trainee attempted to arrest Wright, he tried to drive off. Potter, a 26-year veteran of the force, pulled out a gun and fatally shot Wright. Potter maintained that she thought it was a Taser.

Potter resigned from the police department days later.