Kim Potter sentenced to 2 years in Daunte Wright’s death

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You all may have heard that Kim Potter, the former Minnesota cop who mistakenly pulled her gun rather than her tazer, and fatally shot Daunte Wright during a particularly tense moment in a traffic stop, was sentenced to two years. Here is a link to the full story: https://www.kjct8.com/2022/02/18/ex-cop-who-killed-daunte-wright-learn-sentence/

I was delighted to see that the 27-year veteran officer caught some slack in the matter. I think that if her lawyer(s) had opted for a bench trial she may have been acquitted. There was some talk about her lawyers making some other poor decisions in the presentation of her case, though those details escape my recollection; perhaps a critique of the dual and perhaps contradictory defenses that her lawyers chose.

This Kim Potter event doesn't change my mind about advocating the pursuit of criminal charges against cops who slaughter minority citizens under highly questionable circumstances. But I watched all of the Potter traffic stop video and followed the story and trial some and I truly hold the opinion that Ms. Potter is in an entirely different league from other officers - such as Mohamed Noor who caught a 12.5-year sentence for fatally shooting a 911 caller as she walked up to meet the responding patrol car. And BTW, that officer's appeal was successful and his conviction (and sentence) will be reduced to manslaughter; see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09...is-shooting-justine-damond-ruszczyk/100465680. (Of course the victim that time was not a minority.)

Officer Potter, I felt, deserved some leniency because (1) she was not in favor of the traffic stop but it was suggested (and insisted?) by the rookie she was riding with and (2) she genuinely displayed remorse from the moment it happened and ever after and (3) Mr. Wright did plenty to make the scenario desperate as he hurriedly tried to avert being handcuffed while lurching back into his driver's seat and speeding off with one of the officers possibly snagged on the vehicle. The whole affair was so despicably discombobulated.

 

I’d advocate for officers who shoot all citizens, not just minorities under questionable circumstances to be investigated properly.

 

I am good with that as well in this case, this was not an evil bad cop, she made a mistake, a horrible mistake, but a mistake just the same

not all cases are equal....

now this other case, I was not happy in the verdict, as I think this was a horrible needless execution - I heard the cop is getting disability pay for PTSD over this execution, never has to work again

hope they win their lawsuits for this needless death

"Widow of Daniel Shaver, killed by Mesa police officer in 2016, may press for a trial; man's parents settle with city"

https://www.azcentral.com/story/new...-mesa-his-widow-continues-lawsuit/7515697002/

 

And just like that the looting started. Some people never pass up an opportunity for free Nikes and hair extensions.

 

not a lot so far, ironically it's black businesses being looted

https://www.blacklistednews.com/art...sentencing-of-exofficer-in-duante-wright.html

"Minneapolis: A store specializing in hair weaves and black beauty projects was looted. People on social media had earlier called for looting and rioting as revenge for Kim Potter’s two-year sentence. #DaunteWright #BLM. Video by @RebsBrannon: pic.twitter.com/TaLZfeh79Y"

 

She made a tragic mistake, but an innocent mistake nonetheless. Human beings make mistakes, especially when under stress. I agree with the lenient sentence. I would have been okay with no incarceration at all. Her real punishment is that she has to live with it.

 

They are.

 

It was more than an innocent mistake. It was negligence. Still she did not act with malice or intent.

Justice was served in this case.

 

I have to agree with the bolded. Still, when is she eligible for parole or is she?

 

A terrible tragedy for her in a moment of intense pressure. I think the judge was fair in her sentencing. I wish the family and lawyer Crump would shut up and stop trying to inflame the situation or immortalize the victim.

 

16 months if good behavior

 

But there’s got to be more than this. This should be a learning experience - to try to make it impossible for this to happen again. Change the shape of a taser so it is nothing at all like a gun. Change the training.

 

For a family that has lost a child in these circumstances, I guess that any punishment will be seen as insufficient. This is why we don’t let family members sit on juries or the bench.

This woman has lost her career, her reputation and her freedom (for a period of time). It’s a fair punishment for a horrible mistake…

 

My opinion, you have to change the training mindset a little more back to serve and protect. However, I don't see that happening.

 

That's not an issue. A taser and gun don't feel alike. A loaded weapon is much heaver and usually goes on the belt according to the officer's dominant hand.

She may have been too scared to recognize the difference in weight and handling, but it's practically impossible to be **all present** and not know the difference.

I don't believe that she intentionally killed him just because he was black. However, and I don't mean this in a negative way at all, I absolutely believed it reached that point because he was black. Please let me know if you need me to expound on this point.

 

Ironically or mistakenly?

 

Not always

 

I saw enough film footage to convince me that Ms Potter was genuinely remorseful and just made a split second mistake.

She is not one of the bad cops that the S.O.C.O.B.s (Selectively Offended Chronically Outraged Blacktavist) claim to be targeting.

I regret that the victim's mother seems poised to exploit this innocent mistake for all it's worth.

Given the provocations and red flags she faced leading up to the tragic incident, Ms Potter deserves more of a break than she got.

 

Par for the course when the left doesn’t get the blood they wanted.

 

the right goes after congressmen when they lose an election

these rioters and looters, though, are not of any party

 

The left have gone after politicians and attempted murder. Violence a is the tool of the left.

and theee rioters are absolutely democrats.

 

I disagree on the first point. The two are held the same way and are operated with a trigger. A taser could made so it looks like something completely different - say a flashlight - and is operated with the thumb.
The less it looks, feels and operates like a gun, the less likely it is to use a gun when the intention is to use a taser.

 

I don't think it needs expounding, it's quite clear. You're trying to say "I don't think she did it, but I think she did it." And it's a red herring. If you have the position, there's no need to cover it up or color it up with language. The thing is, the belief isn't something that can be judged on or verified. If it could be, of course the prosecution would have been all over it.

 

so have the right, sadly crazy people on both sides

 

You can't disagree. They don't feel the same. That's a known fact.

An officer's weapon is on their belt on the side of their dominant hand. The taser is on the other side. Handcuffs in the back. Those things are practiced a gazillion times in the academy. Facing a real live person is very scary so I don't doubt that she was scared. I just don't know how anyone that has worn a gun belt can mix the two up. They don't even feel the same way on the belt. A loaded weapon is heavier. That's the primary reason cops that develop sciatica have it on the side where the weapon hits the hip.

I don't intend to sound rude. Did you happen to think that through a little bit?

Can you visualize how many people are going to show up in the ER with some kind of eye damage if a taser is designed to look like a flashlight?

OK. I'll try to explain. It doesn't matter if the taser is made to look and feel differently. It could be shaped and even given a fun fruity flavor. Doesn't matter.

When a person is in a high stress situation, our "fight or flight" response kicks in. It's innate. It's automatic. Think about if you put your hand on a burner on your stove. Your brain isn't going to say "Bx, that's really hot. Maybe think about taking your hand off it." You are going to get burned and your body is going to respond instantly.

Same deal. When anyone, even a cop, is scared and their brain shuts down, he or she **IS** trying to force the brain to engage so they can remember what they learned and practiced. But, learning that from a book, a video, practice with classmates and instructors is NOT going to feel the same way because they already know they are not in danger in those situations.

If you go watch the clips of the Capitol riots, pay attention to the way the officers are standing. Watch their hands. Every cop on the planet will instinctively step backward if they have any signals in their brain or body that tell them to be on "high alert". Now, if you go watch the video clips of Potter's engagement and any others in which a police officer shoots someone or shoots through a door, in every single instance, the cop takes that instinctive step backward. However, the Capitol police officers did not do that immediately. They did not get those signals until it was too late. The people attacking them aren't the people they mentally picture as a threat so they weren't on "high alert" until their brains processed they needed to be.

The point is we can brainstorm all kinds of ways for this type of mistake to be resolved but it's not reasonable or even possible for there to be a foolproof way that every law enforcement officer in every situation facing an immediate threat to CUT off their "fight or flight" and think it through. That's not how the brain or the body works in threatening situations. Mistakes are going to happen and they are going to happen more often with police officers because their job is to go into life-and-death situations constantly. It's unavoidable. They're human. Humans make mistakes. It's part of our gig.