Potter sentenced for killing of Daunte Wright

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Daunte Wright’s parents expressed anger Friday after a judge sentenced the former police officer who killed their son to two years in prison, well below what prosecutors sought.

Katie Wright said Kim Potter “murdered my son” and added: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”

Potter was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, as he sought to drive away from police last April during a traffic stop. Potter, who is white, said she meant to grab her TASER weapon.

Prosecutors had sought about seven years. Judge Regina Chu said several factors warranted a lesser sentence for Potter.

Wright’s father, Arbuey, called the sentence “a slap on the wrist.”

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.

For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state guidelines on that charge range from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years.

Prosecutors said the presumptive sentence was proper, but defense attorneys asked for a sentence below the guidelines, including a sentence of probation only.

Judge Regina Chu imposed the sentence after hearing from Wright’s family and Potter.

Wright’s mother said she will never be able to forgive Potter and would only refer to her as “the defendant” because Potter only referred to her 20-year-old son as “the driver” at trial.

“She never once said his name. And for that I’ll never be able to forgive you. And I’ll never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us,” a tearful 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, adding later: “Daunte Demetrius Wright, I will continue to fight in your name until driving while black is no longer a death sentence.”

In Minnesota, it’s presumed that inmates who show good behavior will serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. That means if Potter gets the roughly seven-year presumptive sentence, she would serve about four years and nine months in custody, with the rest on parole.