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Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was found guilty and convicted of first and second-degree manslaughter for the fatal shooting of 20-year-old African American man Daunte Wright after mistaking her gun for a taser.
Following the latest hearing, a bizarre picture of the former cop smiling in her mugshot went viral on social media. Contrary to her emotional testimony during last week’s trial, the defendant showed no remorse and reportedly maintained a straight face after her sentencing.
On April 11, 2021, Kim Potter shot Daunte Wright with a 9mm handgun by mistaking the weapon as a taser after the victim attempted to run away from police following a traffic stop incident.
The 20-year-old was declared dead at the scene and body cam footage showed the officer realizing her mistake right after the fatal firing. Potter resigned two days after the incident while awaiting trial.
A jury consisting of 12 members had previously deliberated for over 24 hours to decide whether Kim Potter was guilty of “reckless handling of a firearm” with “culpable negligence.”
The officer had previously pled not guilty. However, on Thursday, December 23, 2021, Judge Regina Chu from Hennepin County Court found her guilty of all charges.
The 49-year-old was handcuffed inside the courtroom and taken away to the Minnesota Correctional Facility, where she will be detained until her next hearing on February 18, 2022.
As per the Minnesota law, the maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. The maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter is 10 years.
However, due to Kim Potter’s lack of criminal history, she is likely to face between 6 and 8.5 years in prison.
Twitter reacts to Kim Potter’s smiling mugshot after her conviction
During last week’s hearing, the former police veteran broke down in tears while apologizing for her actions:
"It just went chaotic. I remember yelling 'Taser, Taser, Taser', and nothing happened. Then he told me I shot him. I was very distraught. I just shot somebody. I've never done that. I'm so sorry it happened. I'm sorry. I didn’t want to hurt anybody."
However, the defendant showed no emotion on her face after she was convicted of the charges on Thursday, in which she was declared guilty on two counts of manslaughter. Moreover, a viral capture of Potter’s smiling mugshot left people shocked.
Several social media users took to Twitter to share their reaction to her lack of empathy in relation to the situation:
As reactions continued to pour in online, several law enforcement officials reported that convicts smiling in their prison photos were intoxicated, mentally unfit or unaware of their actions.
