Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Correctional Facility .
Former police officer Kim Potter was all smiles in her new mugshot taken after being convicted of manslaughter on Dec. 23 for killing Daunte Wright.
Potter was convicted for shooting and killing Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn. on Apr. 11, 2021, when she claimed to have deployed her service weapon instead of her Taser. Her service weapon and Taser were secured in holsters on opposite sides of Potter’s body. Potter had stopped Wright in a routine traffic stop.
Potter “sobbed” on the stand during the trial and apologized for killing Wright. When the guilty verdict was read, she displayed little emotion.
She was immediately cuffed and taken to the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee.
The maximum penalty for first-degree manslaughter in Minnesota is 15 years in jail and/or a $30,000 fine. The maximum for second-degree manslaughter is ten years in prison and/ or a $20,000 fine, leading to speculation that Potter may receive a light sentence because she had no criminal history before her conviction.
In October, before the court, prosecutors claimed that they would request a more severe sentence for Potter of between six and eight-and-a-half years in prison.
Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant, said she would never forgive Potter for killing her son.
“When they read first guilty my heart dropped and I let out a wail and buried my head in his chest. Tears of joy.”
Wright’s father, Aubrey Wright, had similar sentiments regarding Potter. He also said he hopes the verdict prevents another tragedy.
“Never. I could never forgive that woman,” he said. “She took my son away from me. For us, as a family, it gives us a sense of hope that police in America won’t be able to pull a gun instead of Taser and there hopefully will be no other Dauntes,” said Bryant.
Potter was convicted of both first-degree and second-degree manslaughter and is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 18, 2022.