XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.law-enforcement, mn.politics
XPost: talk.politics.guns

On 25 Jul 2021, Yak <yak@inbox1.com> posted some news:sdjscq$k2h$13@news.dns-netz.com:

She should never have been convicted in the first place.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A white former police officer convicted of manslaughter after mistaking her handgun for a Taser and fatally shooting Black
motorist Daunte Wright in suburban Minneapolis in 2021 is set to be
released from prison Monday.

Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesman Andy Skoogman announced
Friday that former officer Kim Potter was to be released after serving
about 16 months of her two-year sentence. He said the exact timing of her departure Monday from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee won’t be disclosed for security reasons.

“Our criminal investigative analysts are working closely with law
enforcement to monitor the situation to ensure Kim Potter, like all incarcerated persons, is safe as she leaves our facility,” Skoogman said
in a statement.

The shooting happened April 2021 as Derek Chauvin was on trial in
Minneapolis on murder charges in George Floyd’s killing. Wright's death
sparked several days of protests.

Judge Regina Chu had said at Potter's sentencing that she would be
required to serve two-thirds of her sentence — 16 months — then spend the
rest on probation.

Potter, now 50, appears much thinner in a new photo released by the
Department of Corrections. Her attorney, Earl Gray, said he had “no idea”
why her appearance changed.

“It just shows it’s rough doing time," Gray said. "I don’t know many mug
shots that show somebody in a good light.”

A message left with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer for
Wright's family, wasn't immediately returned.

Wright, a 20-year-old father, was killed on April 11, 2021, after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Officers discovered he had a warrant for a misdemeanor weapons possession charge and he was shot during
a struggle as officers tried to arrest him.

Civil rights advocates say laws against hanging objects from rearview
mirrors have been used as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.

Potter is heard on video yelling “Taser” several times just before she
fires her pistol as Wright tried to drive away from the traffic stop.

The state attorney general’s office had sought a sentence recommended by
state guidelines of just over seven years in prison. Wright's family and
Crump denounced the two-year sentence as too lenient and accused the judge
of giving more consideration to the white officer than the Black victim.

Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter
“murdered my son,” adding: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”

Chu said at the time that the case wasn’t the same as other high-profile killings, including George Floyd's death that resulted in a 22 1/2-year sentence for Chauvin. “This is a cop who made a tragic mistake,” she said.

Defense attorneys argued at the sentencing hearing that Potter deserved leniency because Wright was trying to drive away and Potter had the right
to defend herself.

Potter, a 26-year police veteran, apologized to Wright's family at
sentencing and spoke directly to his mother: “Katie, I understand a
mother’s love. I’m sorry I broke your heart ... my heart is broken and devastated for all of you.”

<https://news.yahoo.com/minnesota-officer-fatally-shot-daunte-
190647689.html>

She should sue the city for defective training.

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