Kim Potter, ex-officer convicted in fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, sentenced to 2 years in prison -- less than prosecutors requested

[EMNofSeattle]

Who were the judge’s tears for?

How common is it for a judge to get emotional during sentencing?

It’s not common for her to realize she should be setting aside the verdict. It’s not often she has to sentence someone who shouldn’t even have been found guilty. It’s the same of realizing she’s only allowing the conviction to stand for political reasons

 

[Tettsuo]

She’s obviously not guilty of manslaughter.

What she did was the very definition of manslaughter.

manslaughter
[ˈmanˌslôdər]

NOUN

1. the crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting to murder.

Personally, I don't think she killed him on purpose and she clearly regrets what she did, but the law is the law. If we want justice to be blind, then we need to behave like it is. A person lost their life over her mistake. Mistakes have consequences. People given the power to enforce the laws should NEVER be above those laws.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

What she did was the very definition of manslaughter.

Personally, I don't think she killed him on purpose and she clearly regrets what she did, but the law is the law. If we want justice to be blind, then we need to behave like it is. A person lost their life over her mistake. Mistakes have consequences. People given the power to enforce the laws should NEVER be above those laws.

That’s not what Minnesota law says. This was covered ad nauseum in the previous threads, but Minnesota law specifically requires you act with the knowledge of risk to another and consciously disregard the risk. You cannot disregard the risk of firing a gun at someone if you don’t think you have a gun in your hand, Minnesota case law on numerous accidental shootings as applied to manslaughter backs up this position. Recklessness is different then negligence.

 

[dcsports]

This was no whoopsy. A human being needlessly died because of her incompetence. Shattering the lives of his family who can never be made whole again. And pressure my ass. They stopped this kid because he had too many odor eaters hanging from the rear view mirror of the car he was driving. I mean WTF! He died because of something as trivial as that? How do you let something like that get to that point? By being incompetent. That's how. This is not a job for everybody.

Yes, it was a very seriousness mistake. Again, unfortunately, mistakes happen, and sometimes that leads to a loss of a life. That doesn't always mean there was a criminal act, or that someone should go to prison.

What they stopped the young man for isn't relevant, but you made an incorrect statement here. He was pulled over for a traffic stop - for signaling a right turn from the left hand turn lane, expired registration, and and yes, having an item hanging from the rear view mirror - all violations of the state law. You may not like the third law, but this was a valid traffic stop.

There absolutely was a lot of pressure on the officers at the scene - directly the result of Wright's actions. Yes, he was pulled over for a minor traffic stop, but it went downhill from there. He didn't have a license or insurance, and his name didn't match the registration. He had a warrant out for his arrest for a weapons charge (carrying a weapon without a permit). He had a protective order against him from a woman - and they didn't know who the woman in the car is. When Wright fought the officers and attempted to flee - they had to stop him. They didn't know if he had a weapon, if the woman in the car was the one with the protective order, or if he intended to hurt her. They didn't want a chase which would put many other lives at risk. Even the judge in this case noted "The fact she never intended to draw her firearm makes this case less serious than other cases," Chu said. "The scene was chaotic, tense, and rapidly evolving. Officer Potter was required to make a split-second judgment. That constitutes a mitigating circumstance."

 

[Mircea]

She didn’t actually break the law, so zero years is appropriate

What I'm hearing is anyone can break into the apartment or home of another and kill them, and it's okay. Got it.