Former Minnesota officer Kimberly Potter, 50, who fatally shot a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop, has been released from jail after serving time. Potter mistook her handgun for a Taser and shot the unarmed black man.
Wright, 20-year-old father, who was unarmed at the time when the officers pulled him over had a warrant for a misdemeanor weapons possession charge.
Potter was released from Minnesota Correctional Facility on Monday after spending 16 months in jail. She was convicted of two counts of manslaughter. Daunte Wright was unarmed at the time. He was pulled over for expired tags and a hanging air freshener.
Potter was released at 4 am on Monday in view of possible protests against her release.
“Based on the intelligence we gathered, we released Ms. Potter at a time we felt was safest for her and for everyone at the correctional facility,” DOC spokesperson Andy Skoogman said in a statement.
Potter will be supervised for the rest of the sentence. She spent two-thirds of her sentence in jail and will spend the rest on probation.
“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.
Katie Wrights, Wright’s mother had said after Judge Chu announced the decision: “Potter murdered my son. Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”
Judge said at the time that the case wasn’t as big as the George Floyd and “This is a cop who made a tragic mistake.”
Potter told Katie Wright, “Katie, I understand a mother’s love. I’m sorry I broke your heart … my heart is broken and devastated for all of you.”
