Mon, Dec 13th, 2021 - 7:36am
February 18, 2022 - 11:16am | By Kyle Cornell
(St. Paul, MN) -- We now know just how long former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter will spend behind bars in the death of Daunte Wright.
Judge Regina M. Chu announced that Potter must serve 16 months in prison, followed by eight months of supervised release on good behavior.
Potter, visibly shook during a statement to the courtroom and family of Daunte Wright, apologized for her actions, claiming again she never wanted what happened to happen, and that she prays everyday for their family after the incident.
Potter always maintained she shot Daunte Wright by accident when he resisted arrest, mistaking her service weapon for her Taser. Prosecutors wanted at least seven years.
Judge Chu cited hundreds of letter from members of the community, former co-workers and leaders in the area defending Potter as a person, pleading that she had simply made a mistake.
Members of Wright's family, including his Mother, Father, Sister, Brother and mother of his child all spoke on their loved one, some overcome by emotions when speaking about what Daunte meant to their family. Daunte Wright's mother, Katie, saying at one point she could never forgive Potter for taking their son away from them.
The former officer was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in a trial in December.
