|
Listen to this article here
|
Sign-Up for a free subscription to The Black Wall Street Times‘ daily newsletter, Black Editors’ Edition (BEE) – our curated news selections & opinions by us for you.
Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer convicted of killing Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man shot during a traffic stop, was released from a Minnesota Correctional facility Monday at 5 a.m. ET
She was released early this morning “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of Ms. Potter, DOC staff and the security of the correctional facility,” according to a statement.
Potter was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021, incident. She had pleaded not-guilty to both charges. She was sentenced last year to 24 months in prison and a fine of $1,000, far below what the prosecution had asked for.
Wright was pulled over for an expired registration tab and a hanging air freshener in the rearview mirror, according to police.
Potter then determined Wright had an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge and tried to detain him, according to former Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, who resigned after the incident.
As officers were arresting Wright, he escaped the officers’ grip and was scuffling with them when he was shot by Potter, police said. CBS News reports her attorneys said she meant to grab her stun gun but accidentally shot her firearm instead.
Wright — who was in the driver seat when he was shot — then drove away before crashing into another car.
A judge ordered Kim Potter to serve 16 months in prison and eight months on supervised release
She already had a credit of 58 days served in jail while awaiting sentencing.
The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter — 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
Wright’s mother said on the stand she would never be able to forgive Potter for what she did.
“She never once said his name [in the trial]. 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,” Katie Wright said.