Ex-cop who killed Daunte Wright sentenced to two years in prison

Kim Potter, who is white, shot the black man in Minneapolis in 2021 at point-blank range

In this screen grab from video, former Brooklyn Centre Police Officer Kim Potter listens during a sentencing hearing on February 18, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AP

The former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison, a penalty below state guidelines after the judge found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence.

Kim Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old black motorist. She was sentenced only on the more serious charge in accordance with state law.

Wright was killed after Brooklyn Centre officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror.

The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin’s trial on murder charges in George Floyd’s killing, sparked several days of demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Centre police station marked by tear gas and clashes between protesters and police.

For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, state sentencing guidelines range from slightly more than six years to about 8.5 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being a little more than seven years.

Prosecutors said the presumptive sentence was proper, but her defence team asked for a sentence below the guidelines, including a sentence of probation only.

The mother of Wright’s son, Chyna Whitaker, said on Friday that Wright would never have a chance to play ball with his son or see him go to school.

“My son shouldn’t have to wear a ‘rest in peace’ shirt of his dad,” Ms Whitaker said.

Wright's mother said she can never forgive Potter.

“I’ll never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us,” a tearful Katie Wright said.

“A police officer who was supposed to serve and protect so much took so much away from us … My life and my world will never ever be the same again,” she said.

She later added: “Daunte Demetrius Wright, I will continue to fight in your name until driving while black is no longer a death sentence.”

Defence lawyer Paul Engh told Judge Regina Chu that Wright’s death was “beyond tragic for everybody involved”. But he added: “This was an unintentional crime. It was an accident. It was a mistake.”

Evidence at Potter’s trial showed officers learnt Wright had an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge and they tried to arrest him when he pulled away.

Video showed Potter shouted several times that she was going to use her Taser on Wright, but she had her gun in her hand and fired one shot into his chest.

Potter has been at the state’s women’s prison in Shakopee since the guilty verdict. Her lawyer said on Friday that her mental and physical health has declined because she has been in isolation for her own safety.

In Minnesota, it’s presumed that inmates who show good behaviour will serve two thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on parole.

Associated Press contributed reporting.