According to the news station, the Minnesota Department of Corrections reported that former officer Kim Potter was released at 4 a.m. local time on Monday after serving 16 months of her two-year sentence. She will be placed on probation for the remainder of her sentence.
CBS Minnesota confirmed on Monday that a white former police officer convicted of manslaughter after mistaking her handgun for a taser and fatally shot a black motorist in suburban Minneapolis in 2021 was released from prison.
DOC spokesperson Andy Skoogman said in a statement,
“Based on the intelligence we gathered, we released Ms. Potter at a time we felt was safest for her and everyone at the correctional facility.”
Friday was announced by Skoogman as the release date for Potter. The exact time of her release from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee on Monday will not be disclosed for security reasons, he said at the time.
Skoogman said in a statement,
“Our criminal investigative analysts are working closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation and ensure Kim Potter’s safety as she leaves our facility.”
The shooting occurred in April 2021, while Derek Chauvin was on trial in Minneapolis for the homicide of George Floyd. The demise of Wright sparked several days of protests.
At Potter’s sentencing, Judge Regina Chu stated that she would be required to serve two-thirds of her sentence, or 16 months, before being placed on probation.
In a newly released photo by the Department of Corrections, 50-year-old Potter appears much thinner. Earl Gray, her attorney, stated that he had “no idea” why her appearance had changed.
Gray stated,
“This merely demonstrates the difficulty of serving time.”
There are not many mugshots that portray a person in a favorable manner. A message left with Wright’s family counsel, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, was not immediately returned.
Wright, a father of 20 years old, was murdered on April 11, 2021, after officers from Brooklyn Center pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener dangling from his rearview mirror.
As officers attempted to arrest him, they discovered he had a warrant for misdemeanor weapons possession and shot him during the struggle.
Advocates for civil rights assert that laws prohibiting the attachment of objects to rearview mirrors have been used as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.
As Wright attempted to flee the traffic stop, Potter can be heard on video multiple times screaming “Taser” just before firing her gun.
The state attorney general’s office sought a sentence of just over seven years in prison, as prescribed by state guidelines. Wright’s family and Crump criticized the two-year sentence as insufficient and accused the judge of favoring the white officer over the Black victim.
Katie Wright, the mother of Wright, stated following the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” adding,
“Today, the justice system murdered him all over again.”
Chu stated at the time that the case was not comparable to other high-profile murders, such as George Floyd’s death, for which Chauvin received a 22-and-a-half-year sentence. “This officer made a tragic error,” she said.
At the sentencing hearing, defense attorneys argued that Potter merited leniency because Wright was attempting to flee and Potter had the right to defend herself.
At Wright’s sentencing, Potter, a 26-year police veteran, apologized to Wright’s family and spoke directly to Wright’s mother, saying,
“Katie, I comprehend a mother’s love. I apologize for breaking your heart… my heart is shattered and devastated for all of you.”
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