The sentencing date has been announced for Kim Potter, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright. According to Judge Regina Chu, Potter will learn her prison sentence on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. ET.
The sentencing date for Kim Potter comes moments after the former cop was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Wright. Following the verdict, defense attorneys asked for Potter to be released from police custody on $100,000 bail until her sentencing, using her background as a devout Christian with hopes to prove that she is trustworthy.
“She has deep roots in the community, and her family’s here, and there’s no evidence that she would flee,” Defense Attorney Earl Gray explained. “So, we respectfully ask you to change your mind as to whether she needs to be incarcerated right now.”
Chu respectfully denied the request stating, “I cannot treat this case any differently than any other case.”
Potter was then escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs, inciting a declaration of love from her husband, Jeff Potter. “I love you, Kim,” he said, to which the former officer replied, “I love you back.”
Potter faces a maximum 15-year prison sentence and an additional $30,000 fine for the first-degree manslaughter charge, which may be reduced due to her clear criminal background. Her second-degree charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison empathized with Potter but said it was his “responsibility as the prosecution, as ministers of justice, to pursue justice wherever it led and the jury found the facts.”
He also issued a message of encouragement to other members of law enforcement who may be discouraged by the verdict in Wright’s case.
"We hold you in high regard, and we also hold you to high standards. We don’t want you to be discouraged,” Ellison said. "Your community respects and appreciates you. We want you to uphold the highest ideals of our society and ideals of safety.”
“When a member of your profession is held accountable, it does not diminish you,” he continued. “In fact… It shows the whole world that those of you who enforce the law are also willing to live by it. And that’s a good thing. It restores trust, faith and hope.”