Ex-Police Officer Kim Potter Released From Prison

SHAKOPEE, MN — Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter was released from prison early Monday morning. She spent 16 months in the state women's prison in Shakopee after fatally shooting 20-year-old Daunte Wright at a traffic stop in 2021.

Potter's punishment was a significant downward departure from Minnesota's presumptive sentencing guidelines, which called for a prison sentence of just over seven years.

The 50-year-old was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting.

Potter was convicted on Dec. 23, 2021. While out of prison, she will remain on probation through Dec. 21, 2023.

"This is the saddest case in my 20 years on the bench," Hennepin County District Court Judge Regina Chu said during Potter's February 2022 sentencing hearing.

"On the one hand, a young man was killed. On the other hand, a respected 26-year veteran police officer made a tragic error by pulling a handgun instead of a Taser."

Under state law, Potter faced a maximum of 15 years in prison. But because she had no previous criminal record, state guidelines called for 86 months in prison, which is just over seven years.

But Chu ruled that Potter deserved less than what the state guidelines called for. "Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically. She never intended to hurt anyone," she said. "This is a cop who made a tragic mistake."

Wright's mother, Katie Bryant, said in a victim impact statement Friday that she will never forgive Potter.

"Daunte Wright is my son, my baby boy, and I say 'is' and not 'was' because he will always be my son, and I'm proud to say that," she said.

"I have spent many, many sleepless nights and days contemplating how and what I was going to say today," she said. "I have to be the voice for myself, my family, my community, most of all for my son, Daunte."

The criminal complaint in Potter's case

Just before 2 p.m. April 11, Brooklyn Center police officer Anthony Luckey and his field training officer, Potter, pulled over a white Buick at 63rd Avenue North and Orchard Avenue North in Brooklyn Center, according to the criminal complaint.

Luckey checked Wright's identification and found that he had a warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge. Luckey and Potter approached the driver's side of the car and asked Wright to get out and place his hands behind his back.

Wright did so, and Luckey told him he was being arrested for his outstanding warrant, according to authorities.

While outside the car, Wright pulled away from the officers and got back into the driver's seat of his car. Luckey struggled with Wright and tried to maintain physical control of him, investigators said.

At 2:01:49 p.m., Wright pulled away from the officers and got back into the driver's seat of his car, with Luckey trying to maintain physical control of Wright, according to the authorities.

At 2:01:55 p.m., Potter said she would tase Wright, before pulling out her Glock 9 mm handgun with her right hand, authorities said. She pointed it at Wright and again said she would tase him, according to investigators.

At 2:02 p.m., Potter said "Taser, Taser, Taser," and pulled the trigger on her handgun one second later, firing one round into Wright's left side, according to authorities.

Wright shouted, "Ah, he shot me," and the car sped away for a short distance before crashing into another car. An ambulance was called, and Wright died at the scene, according to investigators.

Wright died of a gunshot wound, and the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death to be a homicide.

After firing her gun, Potter said, "(Expletive), I just shot him!" according to the criminal complaint.

The handgun was holstered on the right side of Potter's duty belt, and her Taser was on the left side, according to authorities.

The Taser is yellow with a black grip and is set in a "straight-draw position," meaning Potter would have to use her left hand to pull the Taser out of its holster, according to authorities.

Potter is the third Twin Cities metro police officer to be convicted of manslaughter or murder since 2019. Earlier in 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second and third-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.

In 2019, former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Justine Damond. However, his murder conviction was recently overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court.