Minnesota judge, finding mitigating circumstances, imposes below-guideline sentence of 2 years on former officer Kim Potter convicted of manslaughter for killing Daunte Wright

As reported in this AP piece, "Kim Potter, the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison, a penalty below state guidelines after the judge found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence." Here is more:

Judge Regina Chu said the lesser sentence was warranted because Potter was “in the line of duty and doing her job in attempting to lawfully arrest Daunte Wright” when she said she mistook her gun for her Taser.  And, Chu said, Potter was trying to protect another officer who could have been dragged and seriously injured if Wright drove away.  “This is this is one of the saddest cases I’ve had on my 20 years on the bench,” said Chu, who also said she received “hundred and hundreds” of letters supporting Potter. “On the one hand, a young man was killed and on the other a respected 26-year veteran police officer, made a tragic error by pulling her hand gun instead of her Taser.”

Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” adding: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.” Speaking before the sentence was imposed, the tearful mother said she could never forgive Potter and would only refer to her as “the defendant” because Potter only referred to her 20-year-old son as “the driver” at trial....

Wright family attorney Ben Crump said they don’t understand why such consideration was given to a white officer in the killing of a young Black man when a Black officer, Mohamed Noor, got a longer sentence for the killing of a white woman, Justine Ruszczyk Damond. “What we see today is the legal system in Black and white.”

But the judge said the cases are not the same as other high-profile killings by police. “This is not a cop found guilty of murder for using his knee to pin down a person for 9 1/2 minutes as he gasped for air. This is not a cop found guilty of manslaughter for intentionally drawing his firearm and shooting across his partner and killing an unarmed woman who approached approached his squad,” Chu said. “This is a cop who made a tragic mistake.”

For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state guidelines on first-degree manslaughter range from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years. Prosecutors said the presumptive sentence was proper, but defense attorneys asked for a sentence below the guidelines, including a sentence of probation only.

I have not previously blogged about the sentencing advocacy in this high-profile case, but this Hill piece usefully links to the written submissions. Here is an excerpt with links:

Prosecutors in a sentencing memo asked the judge to give Potter 86 months, a little more than seven years. First-degree manslaughter has a sentencing of 15 years in Minnesota, but judges can lower the sentence if a person, like Potter, has no criminal history....

Defendants argued in their filing the sentence should be lower due to Potter having no criminal record and her remorsefulness at the situation.  “To impose a prison term here sends the message that if an officer makes a mistake, the Attorney General will be quick to charge (the Complaint was filed within days), and that officer will immediately be ruined by the publicity alone. And a few in the community will try to kill you,” Potter’s lawyers wrote, noting the threats Potter has received. The lawyers believed her house would have been burned down without protection.

My understanding of Minnesota law is that Potter will serve 2/3 of her sentence in prison, so she will be released on parole after serving 16 months.

Prior related post:

• Previewing sentencing facing former officer Kim Potter after manslaughter convictions for killing Daunte Wright