MINNEAPOLIS – A white police officer who shot and killed a black motorist in suburban Brooklyn Center was found guilty on two manslaughter charges. Kim Potter stood blank-faced as the verdict was read. The jury had deliberated 27 hours over four days. The first-degree manslaughter conviction could mean a 15-year sentence and a $30,000 fine. It’s possible that the sentence for the second manslaughter charges could be served concurrently. Judge Regina Chu Potter refused a request by Potter’s attorneys for her to be released pending sentencing. She will be held in jail in the meantime. Sentencing was scheduled tentatively for February.
Potter. After the verdict was read, Potter’s attorneys comforted her. Potter’s husband whispered from the the gallery, “I love you, Kim.” She said back: “I love you.” The mother of the shooting victim, Daunte Wright — Katie Bryant, also in the gallery — sobbed while her husband comforted her. Prosecutor Erin Eldridge hugged both of Wright’s parents. So did Attorney General Keith Ellison, who organized the prosecution.