The former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright while yelling "Taser" during a traffic-stop-turned-arrest outside Minneapolis is expected to be sentenced Friday.
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 incident happened during the nearby murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, sparked days of protests and looting and inflamed nationwide tensions over police violence.
The first-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. The second-degree charge has a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine. Potter will only be sentenced on the most serious charge.
The family of Wright, who was 20 years old, will be allowed to make victim impact statements during sentencing, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Attorneys for Wright's family have asked for the "strongest and most just sentence possible" for Potter, a veteran officer who had been with the police department for 26 years.
'I'M SO SORRY':Ex-cop Kim Potter describes 'chaotic' moment she shot Daunte Wright
For someone with no criminal history, the presumptive sentence for first-degree manslaughter in Minnesota is about six to eight-and-a-half years, according to state sentencing guidelines. Minnesota offenders typically serve two-thirds of their time in prison and one-third on supervised release, according to The Associated Press.
Rachel Moran, an associate law professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, said there's likely to be a "really large disparity" in the sentences prosecutors and defense attorneys request.
Defense attorneys filed a motion late last month asking the court to sentence Potter to probation instead of prison, based on her "exemplary career," "crime-free life" and
"evident contrition." They also argued Wright is to blame for creating a situation where Potter needed to use force and said Potter "will be a walking target in prison."
Prosecutors say there are "aggravating factors" at play in the case that merit harsher sentencing. They say Potter's actions endangered other people and that she abused her position of authority as a police officer. In a filing Tuesday, prosecutors said Potter's presumptive sentence "reflects the seriousness of the loss of his life" and "could help the community heal."
They added: "No prison sentence can bring Daunte Wright back to life."
The judge is expected to rule on the aggravating factors.
Potter, who is white, fatally shot Wright, a Black man, on April 11. She and a trainee officer said they pulled Wright's vehicle over that day because he had a blinker on in the wrong turn lane, expired tabs and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.
The officers discovered Wright had a warrant for arrest on a weapons violation and an order of protection against him, and they attempted to detain him. During the struggle, Potter fatally shot Wright, who drove down the street and crashed into an oncoming vehicle, injuring the passenger in his car as well as two others.
'SHE DID COMMIT A CRIME':Juror says Kim Potter made a mistake but was still responsible
At trial, defense attorneys argued Potter mistook her firearm for a Taser but was justified in using deadly force to prevent another officer from being injured. Potter testified at the trial and said she was "sorry" and "didn’t want to hurt anybody."
"We were struggling. We were trying to keep him from driving away. It just went chaotic," Potter testified. "And then, I remember yelling 'Taser, Taser, Taser' and nothing happened. And then (Wright) told me I shot him."
Prosecutors said Potter recklessly handled her firearm and caused Wright's death through her "culpable negligence" – a conscious and disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.
Potter has been in state prison since the conviction nearly two months ago. A predominantly white jury deliberated for more than 27 hours in the case.
One juror who spoke anonymously to KARE-TV following the verdict said: "We felt like she was a good person, we felt she made a mistake, and that a mistake does not absolve you from the fact she did commit a crime."
Potter has been segregated from the rest of the prison population and hasn't had contact with other incarcerated women, said Sarah Fitzgerald, spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
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