Wright’s mother to Potter: ‘I’ll never be able to forgive you’
Wright’s mother, Katie Ann Wright, tearfully addresses the court, telling Potter that she will “never” be able to forgive her for killing her son.
“I will not give her the respect of calling her by her name,” Wright said of Potter. “She referred to Daunte over and over again as ‘the driver.’ As if killing him wasn’t enough to dehumanize him, she never once said his name."
“For that I’ll never be able to forgive you,” Wright said, addressing Potter directly. “And I’ll never be able to forgive you for what you’ve stolen from us.”
She asked the judge to give Potter the maximum sentence.
“A police officer who’s supposed to serve and protect took so much away from us,” Wright said. “My life and my world will never ever be the same."
Prosecutor asks judge to sentence Potter to roughly 7 years
In arguments before the court, prosecutor Matthew Frank thanks the jury and Wright’s family. He asks Judge Regina Chu for Potter to receive a presumptive sentence of just over seven years behind bars.
“His name is Daunte Wright,” Frank says. “We have to say his name. He was not just a driver. He was a living human being, a life. The highest principle of law enforcement is the sanctity of life. And his life counted. His life mattered. And that life was taken.”
Potter’s “remorse is not enough,” he adds.
Supporters gather outside the courthouse
Small groups of people are gathering outside Hennepin County District Court, where Potter will be sentenced. Some of them are there to support Potter and others are there for Wright, according to local news reporter Lou Raguse.
Wright’s death proves an interracial America can’t save us
The killing of Wright, whose mother is white and father is Black, highlighted for MSNBC columnist Zach Stafford something painful about the myth of an interracial America.
As Stafford wrote in April:
“While our country may be becoming less and less "black and white" in some regards, it isn’t when it comes to a traffic stop in America — especially when "black and white" has become the biggest factor for an officer when they decide to be judge, juror and executioner during these moments.”
Jury didn’t buy Potter’s tearful testimony
A Minnesota jury wasn't convinced by Potter's tearful testimony during her trial in December.
From The ReidOut Blog's Ja'han Jones in December:
Potter's attorney made the former officer's incompetence central to her defense. Despite having 26 years of police experience, Potter made a simple “mistake” that was undeserving of punishment, her legal team argued.“I’m sorry it happened,” Potter testified through tears. “I didn’t want to hurt anybody.”Tearful performances of contrition have become part of the customary act white police and pseudo-police put on while facing charges for their violence.