(KNSI) — Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter has been sentenced to 24 months in prison after being found guilty of first and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in April of 2021. She will serve 16 months in prison, followed by 8 months of supervised release.
Potter, a 26-year police veteran, said she meant to use her Taser after Wright became uncooperative during a traffic stop on April 11th but used her handgun instead, shooting Wright once in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting touched off days of violent protests outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Potter and former Police Chief Tim Gannon, who characterized the shooting as an “accidental discharge,” resigned after the shooting.
Wright’s death came during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was charged with murder and manslaughter after kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May of 2020. Chauvin was convicted nine days later.
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