The previous police officer who mentioned she confused her handgun for her Taser and fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright was sentenced to 2 years in jail on Friday.
The 26-year-old suburban Minneapolis police veteran was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in December for the killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist.
‘This is without doubt one of the saddest circumstances I’ve had on my 20 years on the bench,’ Decide Regina Chu mentioned on Friday. ‘This can be a cop who made a tragic mistake.’
Wright’s mom, Katie Wright, requested the choose to carry Potter to ‘the very best accountability’ and mentioned she would by no means be capable to forgive Potter. His mom added that she would solely check with Potter as ‘the defendant’ as a result of Potter solely referred to her slain son as ‘the motive force’ through the trial.
‘She by no means as soon as mentioned his title. And for that I’ll by no means be capable to forgive you. And I’ll by no means be capable to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us,’ Wright mentioned via tears.
‘A police officer who was alleged to serve and defend a lot took a lot away from us … My life and my world won't ever ever be the identical once more,’ she added.
Wright household lawyer Ben Crump mentioned the lighter sentencing was unsound, and known as the authorized system ‘Black and white.’
The choose, nonetheless, stood by her resolution, noting that this case was not the identical as different high-profile killings by police.
‘This isn't a cop discovered responsible of homicide for utilizing his knee to pin down an individual for 9 1/2 minutes as he gasped for air. This isn't a cop discovered responsible of manslaughter for deliberately drawing his firearm and taking pictures throughout his associate and killing an unarmed girl who approached his squad,’ Chu mentioned.
‘This can be a cop who made a tragic mistake.’
Since Potter has no prison historical past, the state pointers on first-degree manslaughter vary from barely greater than six years to about 8 1/2 years in jail. Prosecutors agreed with the usual sentence, however protection attorneys requested a sentence under the rules, together with a sentence of probation solely.
The protection informed the choose that whereas Wright’s demise was ‘past tragic for everybody concerned,’ that it was ‘an unintentional crime,’ and shouldn’t be punished as harshly.
Wright was killed when Brooklyn Middle officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. His killing got here as Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd, was on trial, and sparked a number of days of demonstrations exterior the Brooklyn Middle police station.
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