Daunte Wright Family 'Stunned' By Reduced Sentence For Kim Potter

MINNEAPOLIS — The family of Daunte Wright is "stunned" by the downward departure sentence for former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, who was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of the 20-year-old.

Potter was sentenced Friday to two years in prison. She must serve 16 months of that sentence in prison. The final third of Potter's sentence will be served outside of prison, on supervised release.

The punishment is a significant downward departure from Minnesota's presumptive sentencing guidelines, which called for just over seven years.

"Today’s sentencing of Kim Potter leaves the family of Daunte Wright completely stunned," the family's attorneys, Ben Crump and Jeff Storms, said in a news release.

"While there is a small sense of justice because she will serve nominal time, the family is also deeply disappointed there was not a greater level of accountability. The Judge's comments at sentencing showed a clear absence of compassion for the victim in this tragedy and were devastating to the family. Judge Chu’s comments about Potter resembled those of a job recommendation and not that of a senseless and preventable death of a promising life."

Potter faced a maximum of 15 years in prison. Because Potter has no criminal record, state guidelines state that she should receive 86 months in prison, which is just over seven years.

Judge Regina Chu ruled that Potter deserved less than what the state guidelines called for.

"This is the saddest case in my 20 years on the bench," she said before handing down Potter's sentence. "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."

Chu said Potter acted to protect her fellow officers as Wright fled during the traffic stop.

"Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically. She never intended to hurt anyone," she added. "This is a cop who made a tragic mistake."