Former police officer Kim Potter is expected to be released from prison Monday, according to Fox 9 News.
Potter, who was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright, will reportedly be released from Shakopee Minnesota Correctional Facility after serving 16 months.
In 2021, Wright was pulled over for alleged traffic violations, including expired registration tags, in a Minneapolis suburbn. After discovering that Wright had a warrant out for his arrest, they tried to detain him, but Wright managed to get back into his car.
Widespread video footage shows an officer pointing a handgun at Wright and shouting “Taser.” Wright managed to drive away in his car. Potter can be heard saying, “I shot him.” Wright traveled a few blocks before hitting another vehicle.
He was announced dead on the scene. In the video footage, Potter breaks down, saying she mistakenly grabbed and fired her handgun, not the Taser.
Potter’s two-year prison sentence was lower than the usual guidelines because the sentencing judge, Regina Chu, said there were “mitigating factors in the case,” according to NPR, including a chaotic scene and that Potter’s “decisions were not driven by personal animosity toward Wright.”
“Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically,” Chu said. “She never intended to hurt anyone. Her conduct cries out for a sentence significantly below the guidelines.”
Wright’s mother was disappointed with Potter’s sentence.
“Kim Potter murdered my son and … today the justice system murdered him all over again,” Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother, said. “We’re very disappointed in the outcome. Yes, we got a conviction, and we thank everybody for that. But this isn’t OK. A white woman’s tears trump justice.”
According to NPR, Wright’s father added, “They were so tied up in her feelings that they forgot about my son being killed. This lady got a slap on the wrist, and we sit around every night crying, waiting for our son to come home.”
Potter will serve the remaining eight months of her prison sentence on probation, the Daily Mail reported