MINNEAPOLIS (AP): In the death of Daunte Wright, a suburban Minneapolis police officer who claimed she mistook her handgun for her Taser was found guilty of manslaughter on Thursday, bringing tears to the young Black man's parents and a jubilant celebration from supporters outside the courthouse who chanted "Guilty, guilty, guilty!"
Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter was found guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter by a predominantly white jury after deliberating for nearly 27 hours over four days. Under the state's sentencing guidelines, Potter, 49, faces approximately seven years in jail, but prosecutors have suggested they would seek a lengthier sentence.
Potter was taken into prison and detained without bond awaiting his Feb. 18 sentence, according to Judge Regina Chu. Potter has been released on $100,000 bail since she was accused in April of last year, three days after she killed Wright and a day after she resigned from the police service.
"Love you, Kim!" yelled a Potter family member in the courtroom as she was brought away in handcuffs. Potter's lawyers left the courthouse without saying anything and didn't answer phone calls or emails right away.
It was the second high-profile police officer conviction this year for a team led by Attorney General Keith Ellison, which included some of the same lawyers who helped convict Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd in the same courtroom only eight months before.
While that trial was taking place not long away, Wright was slain, igniting a wave of enraged protests outside the Brooklyn Center police station, where people demanding "Justice for Daunte" battled with authorities in riot gear for several nights.
As the judgments were announced outside the courtroom on Thursday, scores of people who had gathered erupted in applause, embraces, and tears of joy. "When the Saints Go Marching In" was performed by a New Orleans-style jazz ensemble. Other people began leaping up and down and yelling "Guilty, guilty, guilty!" when two men jumped up and down gripping each other's shoulders.
"Say his name!" they chanted. "Daunte Wright!" exclaims the narrator. Some had yellow placards with the word "guilty" written in bold block characters on them.
When the findings were read, Potter, who claimed that she "didn't intend to injure anybody," glanced down with no evident expression. Potter made the sign of the cross as the Chu thanked the jurors.
Potter's lawyers claimed that she should be free until she is sentenced, claiming that she would not commit another crime or leave the country.
Potter attorney Paul Engh stated, "It is the Christmas holiday season." "She's a devout Catholic, no less, and incarcerating her at this time would be futile."
The Chu, on the other hand, dismissed their claims, noting that she "cannot treat this case any differently than any other case."
Potter was captured smiling in a mug image taken later as she was processed at a women's jail in Minneapolis, yet showing no evident emotion in court as the convictions were announced.
Prosecutor Erin Eldridge hugged a sobbing Katie Bryant, Wright's mother and a regular attendee at the trial, and Wright's father after Potter was brought from the courtroom. The parents and Ellison shared embraces as well.
Following the decision, Ellison stated outside the courthouse that the verdict provided a level of accountability for Potter but fell short of justice.
"Justice would be bringing Daunte back to life and reuniting the Wright family," Ellison explained. "For Daunte, justice is beyond what we can achieve in this life. However, accountability is a key, necessary step on the road to justice for all of us."
Potter has gone from being an "esteemed member of the community" to being convicted of a major felony, according to Ellison.
The verdicts caused "every single feeling that you could imagine," Wright's mother said as she hugged Ellison.
"Today we received accountability, which is exactly what we've been asking for since the beginning," Katie Bryant said, praising supporters for keeping the pressure on.
She said, "We love you, we thank you, and we honestly couldn't have done it without you."
Jurors agreed on the second count on Tuesday, before asking the judge what to do if they couldn't agree that afternoon, according to the timestamps on the verdicts. At 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, a guilty verdict on the more serious first-degree felony was obtained.
Potter, a white man, shot and murdered Wright, 20, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center on April 11 as she and other police attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for weapons possession. The incident occurred during a period of heightened tension in the neighborhood, with Chauvin on trial for Floyd's killing in neighboring Minneapolis.
Jurors were shown a video from police body cameras and dashcams of the shooting. Potter continuously threatened to tase Wright as another officer sought to arrest him before drawing her firearm and shooting him once in the chest.