MINNEAPOLIS — A white former police officer convicted of manslaughter after mistaking her handgun for a Taser and fatally taking pictures Black motorist Daunte Wright in suburban Minneapolis in 2021 is about to be launched from jail Monday.
Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesman Andy Skoogman introduced Friday that former officer Kim Potter was to be launched after serving about 16 months of her two-year sentence. He mentioned the precise timing of her departure Monday from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee gained’t be disclosed for safety causes.
“Our criminal investigative analysts are working closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation to ensure Kim Potter, like all incarcerated persons, is safe as she leaves our facility,” Skoogman mentioned in a press release.
Potter killed Wright after a visitors cease in April 2021. The taking pictures occurred as Derek Chauvin was on trial in Minneapolis on homicide costs in George Floyd’s killing. Wright’s loss of life sparked a number of days of protests.
Judge Regina Chu had mentioned at Potter’s sentencing that she could be required to serve two-thirds of her sentence – 16 months – then spend the remainder on probation.
Potter, now 50, seems a lot thinner in a brand new picture launched by the Department of Corrections. Her lawyer, Earl Gray, mentioned he had “no idea” why her look modified.
“It just shows it’s rough doing time,” Gray mentioned. “I don’t know many mug shots that show somebody in a good light.”
A message left with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, the lawyer for Wright’s household, wasn’t instantly returned.
Wright, a 20-year-old father, was killed on April 11, 2021, after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Civil rights advocates say legal guidelines in opposition to hanging objects from rearview mirrors have been used as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.
Potter is heard on video yelling “Taser” a number of occasions simply earlier than she fires her pistol as Wright tried to drive away from the visitors cease.
The state lawyer common’s workplace had sought a sentence really helpful by state pointers of simply over seven years in jail. Wright’s household and Crump denounced the two-year sentence as too lenient and accused the decide of giving extra consideration to the white officer than the Black sufferer.
Wright’s mom, Katie Wright, mentioned after the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” including: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”
Chu mentioned on the time that the case wasn’t the identical as different high-profile killings, together with George Floyd’s loss of life that resulted in a 22 1/2-year sentence for Chauvin. “This is a cop who made a tragic mistake,” she mentioned.
Defense attorneys argued on the sentencing listening to that Potter deserved leniency as a result of Wright was making an attempt to drive away and Potter had the precise to defend herself.
Potter, a 26-year police veteran, apologized to Wright’s household at sentencing and spoke on to his mom: “Katie, I understand a mother’s love. I’m sorry I broke your heart … my heart is broken and devastated for all of you.”
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