Daunte Wright family ‘cheated’ by two-year sentence for officer who shot him dead

The family of Daunte Wright said they felt "cheated" of justice on Friday after the former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter received just 24 months in prison for the manslaughter of the 20-year-old Black motorist during a traffic stop last year.

Judge Regina Chu said that Potter, a white 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police department, made "a tragic mistake" when she shot Wright with her Glock 9mm service pistol in April 2021, thinking she was pulling out her Taser.

Potter, 49, who was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter in December, was a "respected officer" who was "acting in the line of duty" when she shot Wright, Chu concluded, justifying a "significant downward departure" in sentencing guidelines that could have seen her impose up to eight and a half years.

Speaking outside the Hennepin county courthouse in Minneapolis shortly after the hearing's conclusion, Arbuey Wright, Daunte Wright's father, broke down in tears as he condemned the sentence.

"I feel cheated. I feel hurt. I'm very upset that my son's life was taken, and it seemed to me nobody even cared enough," he said, referring to Potter's own tearful apology in court to his family.

Katie Bryant, Daunte Wright's mother, added: "Yes we got a conviction, and we thank everybody for that, but this isn't OK. A white woman's tears trumped justice."

In a statement, Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general who prosecuted Potter, said he "accepted" the judge's sentence, and hoped Potter would use her experience to educate other police officers.