MINNEAPOLIS — Cries and angry shouts rose up from a crowd of Daunte Wright supporters outside the Hennepin County District Court moments after a judge on Friday handed down a two-year sentence to former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly A. Potter.
The sentence, less than recommended in state guidelines, was an insult to the Wright family and a green light to police officers to kill without worry of lengthy prison time, said Margaret Sullivan, one of about 20 activists and family friends who stood vigil during the sentencing hearing.
"It's a slap in the face," Sullivan said. "How do we as a Black nation look at this and then still somehow try to have some hope that the system is changing?"
The sentence comes 10 months after Potter fatally shot Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center. Potter, a 26-year-veteran, said she mistakenly drew her service pistol when she reached for her Taser. She shot Wright once in the chest.
Potter's sentence from Judge Regina Chu was universally rejected by Wright's family. His mother said it was as if her son had been killed a second time, and friends said it was proof that racism still guides the judicial process. But the head of the state's largest police union said he appreciated the reduced sentence.
"We are thankful for Judge Chu's thoughtful approach in her stated reasoning, as she recognized Ms. Potter's law enforcement service and that she made a tragic mistake," Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said in a prepared statement.
The 24-month sentence requires that two-thirds be served in prison, with the remaining third served on conditional release, and Potter will get credit for the 58 days she's been in custody so far.
State Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement saying he accepted Chu's judgment, and urged others to do so.
"I don't ask you to agree with her decision, which takes nothing away from the truth of the jury's verdict," Ellison wrote. "I know it is hurtful to loved ones of Daunte Wright. I ask that we remember the beauty of Daunte Wright, to keep his memory in our hearts, and to know that no number of years in prison could ever capture the wonder of this young man's life."
Wright's family spoke during the sentencing hearing, hoping to persuade Judge Chu with carefully written victim impact statements. Wright's father, Arbuey Wright, said afterward that the family felt like their grief was considered less worthy than that of Potter, who broke down during the trial and apologized for what she said was a mistake.
"I feel like we was tricked," Arbuey Wright said. "I walk out of this courthouse feeling like people are laughing at us because this lady got a slap on the wrist and we still every night sitting around crying, waiting for my son to come home."
Daunte's mother, Katie Wright, who also goes by Katie Bryant, said she believes Potter's tears were coerced and coached by her defense team.
"So once again we are standing here to say that we're very disappointed in the outcome," Wright said. "Yes, we got a conviction, and we thank everybody for that, but again this isn't OK. This is the problem with our justice system today. White woman tears trump … trump justice."
Wright family attorney Ben Crump and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott both compared Potter's sentence to the much longer sentence of police officer Mohamed Noor, who was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison for the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Noor's conviction was later vacated by the Minnesota Supreme Court, and he was given a new sentence of nearly five years.
"The question many in our community are asking me today is why did Mohamed Noor, a Black Minneapolis police officer, receive a much harsher sentence for a lesser charge?" Elliott wrote in a statement.
Crump said the parallels between Noor's and Potter's cases can't be unseen by Black Americans.
"Wasn't Mohamed Noor trying to do the exact same thing they said Kim Potter was trying to do? He was trying to look out for his fellow officer's safety as well," Crump said. "He was very remorseful as well. But they didn't make a downward departure for the Black police officer, like they made for this white police woman."
Potter, a 26-year police veteran, was found guilty in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter, becoming the third officer in Minnesota to be convicted of killing a civilian while on the job. A small group of demonstrators held signs of support for Potter outside the courthouse during the sentencing hearing.
Amity Dimock, whose son Kobe Dimock-Heisler was also fatally shot by Brooklyn Center police in 2019, said she was "beyond disappointed" with the sentence.
"Minnesota and Judge Chu should be ashamed of themselves," Dimock said.
Elliott said Friday that his city remains committed to implementing a slate of policing reforms named for Wright and Dimock-Heisler that the City Council passed last May.
Wright's killing led to large protests and civil unrest in Brooklyn Center, where extra patrols were on the streets Friday in an abundance of caution, city spokeswoman Angel Smith said. The city was unaware of any active threats or disruptive protests planned, but was ready to call in help from other agencies if necessary, she said.
A fence still surrounded the city's police station on Friday, a memorial and tribute site for Wright still in place. Smith said the timing for the fence's removal was still being coordinated.
Some of Wright's family members and supporters spoke again Friday afternoon. Some demonstrators in attendance planned to demonstrate outside Chu's home.
"What else do they want from us?" Toshira Garraway, of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, said to the crowd. "We cry and we plead and we beg and they do nothing. This is what they do. This is not justice."
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(Star Tribune staff writer Alex Chhith contributed to this story.)
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