Officer arrested, charged with manslaughter in killing of Daunte Wright

MINNEAPOLIS – Former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kimberly A. Potter was arrested late Wednesday morning at the offices of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the agency said in a statement.

Potter, who resigned from the Police Department on Tuesday, was charged with seconddegree manslaughter in the shooting death on Sunday of Daunte Wright, the Washington County Attorney’s Office said. She was booked into Hennepin County jail shortly after noon, jail records show.

Potter is being represented by attorney Earl Gray, who was not immediately available for comment.

Attorney Ben Crump, who said he has been retained by Wright’s family, issued a statement Wednesday with cocounsel Jeff Storms and Antonio Romanucci in response to the charges.

“While we appreciate that the district attorney is pursuing justice for Daunte, no conviction can give the Wright family their loved one back,” the statement said.

“This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force,” the statement read. “Driving while Black continues to result in a death sentence. A 26-year veteran of the force knows the difference between a Taser and a firearm.”

A second-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison or a $20,000 fine or both.

Minneapolis defense attorney Barry Edwards said statutory maximum sentences don’t mean much, as judges instead follow guidelines from the state Sentencing Guidelines Commission. In the case of someone with no prior felonies facing a second-degree manslaughter conviction, the presumptive and more likely sentence would be four years, he said. And even then, a judge may consider probation instead of prison.

“If it were my client, I would argue for probation ... and expect a good chance of winning,” Edwards said.