Former Minnesota Officer Convicted in Daunte Wright Killing Released From Prison

Former police officer Kimberly Potter awaits her verdict in Minneapolis on Dec. 23, 2021, in a still image from video. Pool via Reuters

The former Minneapolis-area police officer convicted of killing Daunte Wright was released from prison on Monday after serving part of her sentence for the fatal shooting.

Kimberly Potter, now 50, was found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the 2021 shooting of Wright, a 20-year-old man, during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

She had served 16 months of her two-year sentence and will remain on supervised release for the remaining third of the term, her attorney Earl Gray confirmed. He declined further comment.

Potter was unavailable for comment.

Former police officer Kimberly Potter prepares to address the victim's family before she is sentenced for manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, in Minneapolis on Feb. 18, 2022, in a still image from video. Pool via Reuters

During the traffic stop in which Potter shot Wright, officers learned that a warrant was out for his arrest on a misdemeanor weapons charge and tried to detain him.

When Wright resisted, Potter fired her handgun at him while shouting, “Taser, Taser, Taser!,” video from her body-worn camera showed. During her trial, Potter claimed she had mistaken her firearm for the non-lethal Taser.

After the sentence, Daunte Wright’s mother Katie Wright blasted the two-year sentence as too lenient and questioned the sincerity of Potter’s tearful testimony at trial.