The sentencing hearing in the Kim Potter trial defies the imagination. Potter shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20 year Black man, during a routine traffic stop in 2021. Potter was sentenced to 2 years in prison. She will spend 16 months in prison and would then be eligible, depending on her behavior while incarcerated, for supervised release for the remaining third of the sentence. Potter was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter. Sentencing guidelines in Minnesota called for a 6–7-year sentence, The presiding judge Regina Chu, however, decided to sentence far below the guidelines.
Chu’s decision to sentence Potter below the guidelines relied more on her belief that Potter’s actions were not malicious. Rather she argued that Potter’s 26-year career and “honorable service to the community” trumped the reckless use of her firearm and by inference the murder of Dante Wright. From the outset of her remarks. Chu established a false equivalency between Wright and Potter. She acknowledged the loss of Daunte Wright and its impact on his family but seemed to minimize his death by privileging Potter’s mistake. She described Potter as a “cop who made a tragic mistake.” Chu also seemed to give more weight to the defense team, and expert witnesses who testified on Potter’s behalf. She also seemed influenced by Potter’s statements after the victim impact statement as opposed to the comments of Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother.
Chu justified her decision by comparing Potter’s actions to those of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer recently convicted of killing George Floyd. She pointed out that while Chauvin’s actions were deliberate and calculated, Potter’s actions were not. The problem remains that Potter’s role as a training officer and her experience on the force clearly point to reckless behavior. Potter was eminently qualified and trained to distinguish her service revolver from the taser both of which are located on opposite sides of the body. Moreover, Potter was training a rookie officer on the day of the shooting.
The reaction to the sentencing was shift. Wright’s mother seized the opportunity to talk about the racial implications of the sentencing. She pointed out that her victim impact statement received no response from the judge, but Chu broke down in tears as Potter spoke. She said further: “This is the problem with our justice system today. White woman tears Trumps Justice. I thought my own white woman tears would good enough because they were true and genuine.” Wright’s father pointed out that they felt cheated. That his son’s life was ultimately less important than the welfare and well-being of a white officer.
Protests erupted last night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. A beauty shop was looted, and reports of property damage were reported. Protestors gathered at the Hennepin County Government Center and marched to the Loring Hill neighborhood to a condominium unit where Judge Chu allegedly resides. Protestors carried “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice for Daunte Wright.”
The sentencing occurs against the backdrop of a number of police killings, a rise in officers leaving the job and all-time lows in public confidence in policing. While the cause of these killings remains unclear, commentators have erroneously argued they are an outgrowth of cries for police reform, especially defunding the police. What remains clear from this sentencing is that stark inequities still exist in the sentencing of police officers charged with crimes against innocent citizens. These inequities make calls for police and justice system reform even more necessary and urgent.