It has just been reported by Buzzfeed that former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was found guilty on manslaughter charges by a jury on Thursday for fatally shooting Daunte Wright.Potter remained composed as Hennepin County District Judge Regina Chu announced the convictions on two charges: first-degree manslaughter predicated on reckless use/handling of a firearm and second-degree manslaughter.
Potter now faces several years in prison. She will be sentenced on Feb. 18.
The former officer was handcuffed and taken into custody after the verdict was announced, despite a request from her attorneys that she remain out on bail until she is sentenced. “I cannot treat this case differently from any other case,” Chu said.
Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant, told reporters after the verdict that she was overcome with emotion to hear Potter be convicted. “I kind of let out a yelp because it was built up in the anticipation of what was to come while we were waiting the last few days,” she said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said police officers in the state are held in high regard — and to high standards. The conviction, he said, “shows the whole world that those of you who enforce the law are also having to live by it, and that’s a good thing.”
Fox News went on to report that outside the courtroom, staff elsewhere in the Hennepin County Government Center were instructed to stop work and exit the building before the decision was read aloud deciding Potter’s fate. The entire Minneapolis courthouse was to be cleared before the outcome was announced for security measures. Kim Potter’s husband yelled out, “I love you Kim,” as she was taken into custody and Potter said it back.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said outside the courthouse that “we have a degree of accountability for Daunte’s death,” but that he also felt for Potter.
“She is going from being an esteemed member of the community, an honored member of a noble profession, to being convicted of a serious crime,” Ellison said. “I don’t wish that on anyone, but it was our responsibility as the prosecutor, as ministers of justice, to pursue justice wherever it led, and the jury found the facts.”
