MINNEAPOLIS — Former police officer Kim Potter gets out of prison Monday, two years after fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in a Brooklyn Center neighborhood.
Potter, a 26-year police veteran, said she confused her gun for a Taser. But the police killing of an unarmed 20-year-old Black man sparked protests and calls for reform around pretextual traffic stops, where minor traffic or equipment violations are used by police to pull over drivers they wish to investigate.
Activists flooded Brooklyn Center within hours of the shooting and clashed with scores of law enforcement officials for days outside the police station. Wright's death captured national attention since it happened during the trial of ex-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin's for murdering George Floyd.
Chauvin received a 22½-year sentence. Potter, who was tried at the same courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, received two years — a sentence significantly below state guidelines. She has served 16 months at the women's prison in Shakopee, and will serve the remaining eight months on supervised release.
"Her incarceration was just a moment in time," Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told the Star Tribune this week. "She cursed us with a forever life sentence."
Potter, 50, and her attorneys, Earl Gray and Paul Engh, declined to comment for this story.
Minnesota Department of Corrections officials said they intend to release Potter using standard procedures. The exact timing of her release will not be made public for security reasons.
"Our criminal investigative analysts are working closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation to ensure she, like all incarcerated persons, is safe as she leaves our facility," Corrections Department spokesman Andy Skoogman said in an email.
"We will quickly adjust and alter our release procedures if we obtain information that indicates there is a credible threat to Kimberly Potter's safety or the safety of others."
A Hennepin County jury convicted Potter, who had no criminal history, of first- and second-degree manslaughter. Wright's family and supporters celebrated the guilty verdicts but blasted the sentence handed down by Judge Regina Chu, who cried when she announced Potter's punishment last February.
"Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically. She never intended to hurt anyone," Chu said from the bench. To those who disagreed, Chu, who has since retired, added: "Please try to empathize with Ms. Potter's situation."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution in Potter's case, was seeking a seven-year sentence and had until May 2022 to appeal Chu's sentence. He declined to do so, saying he accepted the decision and urged others to do the same.
"As Ms. Potter leaves prison, I wish her success in her reentry, as I do for all people reentering society from incarceration," Ellison said in a statement. "My deepest sympathies, however, remain with Daunte Wright, his family, and his young child who will grow up without a father."
In the fallout from the fatal shooting, Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center force. Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned but filed a lawsuit last summer against the city, alleging he was forced out for immediately refusing to fire Potter.
Around the same time Gannon filed his suit, Wright's girlfriend, Alayna Albrecht-Payton, filed a lawsuit against the city for post-traumatic stress disorder and injuries sustained from being in the passenger seat when the shooting occurred.
Police stopped Wright for driving with expired plates. He initially complied with officers, according to the criminal complaint, but tried to flee when told he was under arrest for an outstanding warrant.
In body camera footage, Potter can be heard shouting "Taser! Taser! Taser!" before firing one shot. After being hit, Wright sped off in his vehicle and crashed into an oncoming SUV. Albrecht-Payton suffered a broken jaw and tried in vain to save Wright's life.
Brooklyn Center reached settlements of $350,000 with Albrecht-Payton and $3.25 million with Wright's family. City officials also agreed to change policies and training for certain traffic stops.
On April 11, the second anniversary of Wright's death, his family and friends gathered at the Brooklyn Center police station to release balloons. They hosted another memorial event over the weekend.
Katie Wright said the only comfort she has about Potter's impending release is knowing that she can never be a police officer again. Potter's peace officer license was automatically revoked with her felony conviction.
"Even though we didn't get the accountability that we really wanted, she will never be able to mistake a Taser and a gun ever again for the rest of her life," Wright said.
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