Daunte Wright's mom speaks out after release of Kim Potter, former officer who fatally shot him
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – A former Minnesota police officer convicted of manslaughter is out of prison.
Kim Potter will serve the rest of her two-year sentence on supervised release in Wisconsin after 16 months behind bars.
Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in 2021. She says she mistook her gun for her Taser.
Wright's memorial site in Brooklyn Center is a sacred place to his mother, Katie Wright. But it's also a painful reminder of her loss. Those feelings were unearthed once again Monday upon Potter's release.
"Sadness because she gets to touch her sons, be with her sons, hear her sons' voice. And disappointment," Wright said. "There's a lot. It's a lot of emotions."
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Potter will now be on supervised release for eight months, the last third of her sentence, as is the law in Minnesota.
"Sixteen months doesn't compare to the life sentence that we are stuck with," Wright said.
She says one way she keeps her son alive is by pushing for Brooklyn Center police reforms that have Daunte's name attached to them. A resolution the city council passed after he died called for a sweeping overhaul to the city's public safety.
"We continue to hit brick walls and it's a constant fight," she said.
WCCO News spoke Monday with Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves.
"I know the process is slow, but at least it's been intentional, and I feel positive about the direction that we're going," Graves said.
Mayor Graves says the city no longer makes arrests or searches for low-level offenses, issuing citations instead. An office for community prevention, health and safety was also created.
"I definitely have seen the work happening kind of behind the scenes, not necessarily on paper, but with the relationships," Graves said. "I also have two sons, one son that is about the same age as Daunte Wright and that looks very similarly, so yes, it matters to me."
More changes could be coming next month when the city council reviews alternative policing recommendations that came out of the resolution.
As for Potter, her attorney declined comment Monday, but WCCO News obtained her application for a pardon from last year. In it, she writes in part, "The sadness and remorse I feel for this death will be with me forever...I pray for Daunte daily."
The Board of Pardons didn't consider her case.