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The mother of the African American who was shot complains that the US judicial system has murdered her son again. The judge justifies the two years in prison with mitigating circumstances.
The former police officer was sentenced to two years in prison for the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright last April.
via REUTERS
Judge Regina Chu stayed with the sentence well below the six to eight and a half years that are provided in such a case in the US state of Minnesota.
via REUTERS
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Former police officer Kim Potter has been sentenced to two years in prison for the fatal shooting of African American Daunte Wright.
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The sentence is well below the prosecutor’s requirement of more than seven years in prison.
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The judge reasoned: “She never intended to harm anyone.”
Former US police officer Kim P. was sentenced to two years in prison last April for fatally shooting Daunte Wright, a black man. Judge Regina Chu said on Friday that she had to serve 16 months in prison and the last eight months should be released on probation. Chu stayed with the sentence well below the six to eight and a half years that is provided for in such a case in the US state of Minnesota and was sharply criticized by Wright’s mother. A jury found P. guilty of manslaughter in December.
The white officer P. shot the 20-year-old at a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center in Minnesota. She stopped Wright and found the man had a warrant out for his arrest. When the police officer and a colleague tried to handcuff Wright, he jumped back into the car and the officer repeatedly threatened to use her stun gun. When he didn’t respond, a shot was fired, and video footage of the incident shows the officer cursing and saying she picked the wrong gun.
“Police veteran made a tragic mistake after 26 years of service”
The incident occurred during the trial of white police officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted of killing African American George Floyd. There were days of protests. Judge Chu said the case was one of the saddest of her 20-year career. “On the one hand, a young man was killed, on the other, a respected police veteran made a tragic mistake after 26 years of service.”
The ex-officer, who has no criminal record, said she mistook her firearm for her stun gun when she shot Wright. Your defense lawyers presented the process as a kind of accident. Chu justified the sentence with mitigating circumstances. P. lawfully tried to arrest Wright, she said. The defendant also tried to protect her colleague. P. himself told the Wrights family that she was sorry for putting the young man to death. “I can relate to motherly love,” P said. “I’m sorry I broke your heart.”
“Today the justice system murdered him again”
Wright’s mother Katie, on the other hand, said before the sentence was announced that she would never be able to forgive the ex-official. She never spoke of Wright’s name throughout the process. The defendant burst into tears at Katie Wright’s words. Wright called the sentence a farce. “Today the justice system murdered him again,” she said, accusing the judge of being impressed by the ex-cop’s “white tears”.
The family’s lawyer said he did not understand why mitigating circumstances had been invoked in the case in which a white police officer killed an African American man. In another case, in which a black police officer killed a white woman, the sentence was higher. “What we saw today is a legal system in black and white,” said attorney Ben Crump.
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(DPA / bre)