Police officer Kim Potter was found guilty by a Minnesota jury today of manslaughter in the first and second degree for the shooting death of young African American Daunte Wright reported on April 11.
Potter, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, shot the 20-year-old in the middle of a traffic stop and attempted arrest at Brooklyn Center.
How Many Years Did Kim Potter Get?
Potter, 49, had been with the police for 26 years. The first charge for which he was found guilty carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail and a fine of $ 30,000, while the second carries 10 years in prison and a fine of $ 20,000. However, since the ex-agent has no criminal record, sentencing guidelines recommend 6 to 8.5 years in jail.
Wright died on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of the city of Minneapolis (Minnesota), because Potter, according to the official version, confused his electro-shock weapon with a firearm during a traffic control.
The video of the event, which was made public by local authorities and was reproduced during the trial, shows how three officers approach Wright’s vehicle and one of them tries to handcuff him, but the young man resists.
Then, as seen in the recording, a struggle begins and the agent pulls out her pistol and yells as a warning: “Taser! Taser! Taser! ”. Then a shot is heard and the agent exclaims in surprise: “I shot him.”
The police say they stopped the vehicle because he did not have some papers in order, they asked Wright for identification and realized that he had a pending arrest warrant, so they tried to stop him.
It was at this point that the man tried to get back into the car and was hit by a bullet.
During the trial, which was held in Minneapolis, the former agent had to answer multiple questions that the prosecutor asked her about the electro-shock weapon and the differences it has with respect to the regulation pistol both in its size, its shape, and its weight.
As the images exhibited during the trial showed, the taser is larger and bulkier than the pistol.
Former police officer Kim Potter is led away in handcuffs after her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 18 for manslaughter convictions in the death of Daunte Wright. | https://t.co/sfMOwaATvu pic.twitter.com/zkYxKSLPuZ
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 23, 2021
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