Kim Potter Daunte Wright’s killer was captioned smiling in her mugshot. The disturbing mugshot has been surfacing as Judge Regina Chu later sentenced Potter to two years, well below prosecutors’ request, saying that mitigating factors warranted it.
Daunte Wright was a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by a female police officer during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb.
At the time Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon tried to cover up the severity of the shooting describing it as “an accidental discharge.” He said the officer responsible intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun.
Body camera footage of the fatal encounter shows three officers around a stopped car. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a struggle ensues.
Body camera footage of the fatal encounter shows three officers around a stopped car. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a struggle ensues.
Kim Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department shortly after the shooting on April 11. She was later charged with second-degree manslaughter, an offense that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney representing the Wright family, has argued that Wright’s killing could not have been a mistake, pointing to Potter’s decades of experience.
The attorney has also cited the case of Mohamed Noor in his call for more serious charges to be filed against Potter.
Fast forward Kim Potter is only given a 2 year sentence, with a smile on her mugshot.
The mother of Daunte Wright spoke out about the degrading experience saying, Potter never looked at her and other Wright family members as they passed in the hallway during the trial, and when she testified, expressed sorrow only after a break where she “had time to be coached on how to gain some sort of sympathy from the jury.”
“How do you show remorse when you’re smiling in your mug shot after being sentenced to manslaughter? After taking my son’s life? How do you say you’re sorry with no tears?” Katie Wright said.
Damik Bryant, Daunte Wright’s brother, also called the mug shot “painful” and urged the judge to impose a “strong sentence.”
Defense attorney Paul Engh began his remarks by responding to the Wright family’s anger.
“There’s no disrespect intended to the booking photograph,” he said. “Ms. Potter indicates they asked her to smile, she smiled. It was not meant to be disrespectful, it was in response to the prison’s request.”
When Potter was given a chance later to address the court, she addressed the Wright family directly, saying she was “so sorry that I brought the death of your son.” She also told Katie Wright that she felt she didn’t believe she “had a right to” look at her during the trial.
“I understand a mother’s love, and I’m sorry I broke your heart,” Potter said.
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