Former Cop Kim Potter, Who Fatally Shot Daunte Wright, Released From Prison

Former Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter has been released from prison after serving 16 months of a two-year sentence following her conviction on manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright.

Potter was released on Monday, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said, according to CNN. She will be on supervised release through December for the remainder of her sentence per Minnesota law. Potter’s attorney told CNN that the former officer will live in Wisconsin.

Wright’s mother, Katie, told CNN that she was “dreading” Potter being released.

“Some say I should forgive to be at peace but how can I? I am so angry. She is going to be able to watch her kids have kids and be able to touch them,” Katie Wright said. “I am always scared I am going to forget my son’s voice. It gave us some sense of peace knowing she would not be able to hold her sons. She has two. I can’t hold my son.”

Potter shot Wright on April 11, 2021, after the unarmed 20-year-old Black male was pulled over for expired registration tags and officers saw an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, which is against the law in Minnesota. When the officers found a misdemeanor warrant out for Wright’s arrest, they tried to detain him. In body camera footage, Wright can be seen trying to get back into his car, and after a scuffle, Potter can be heard shouting, “Taser”; she instead pointed her gun at Wright and fatally shot him.

Potter was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter, which could have carried up to a maximum of nine years in prison, but the judge sentenced her to 18 months, with the remaining third spent under supervised release pending good behavior. Potter was also fined $1,000. Judge Regina Chu argued that Potter “never intended to hurt anyone. Her conduct cries out for a sentence significantly below the guidelines.” Outside the courtroom, Wright’s father Aubrey called the sentence “a slap on the wrist.”