behind bars. that s the sentence a judge handed down to the former police officer kimberley potter. it is four years less than the lowest end of the range. the sentencing guidelines were 6 to 8 1/2 years. so it is incredibly less, right, too. potter is seep here in this body cam video where she fatally shot 20-year-old daunte wright while yelling taser during a traffic stop last year. wright s parents are outraged the sentence is so short. kim potter murdered my son, and he died april 11th. today the justice system murdered him all over again. i walk out of this courthouse feeling like people are laughing at us because this lady got a slap on the wrist, and we still every night sitting around crying waiting on my son to come home. i m upset. out front now stephanie
they herd her yelling taser, taser, taser, perhaps jurors are believing kim potter s testimony and wanting to see how easy would it be to make that kind of mistake. it seems concerning to me that they did not accept kim potter s own words. she pretty much admitted her conduct was unreasonable. we saw that she failed to render aid to him, that she failed to contact the other police officers, call 911, do those things that an officer, particularly one with 26 years of experience would be expected to do. i thought the prosecution had laid out a pretty effective case, at least for the second degree manslaughter, if not for the first degree, which is, you know, you talked about recklessness. but based on what we re hearing, these jurors don t see it, at least some of them perhaps don t see it the way the prosecution thought they would. and of course we know that this is not a case where the prosecution is even having to prove intent, right? they can have the sympathy
daunte wright who was shot during the derek chauvin trial we might add but the idea of was it reasonable? was it culpable negligence? was it reckless for her to mistake this one weapon for another. are you thinking this is, by looking at the gun, by trying to hold it, it goes to that notion of whether it was preposterous for her to believe and make this mistake? that s one way you could interpret what the question is, laura, but also maybe the jurors are believing her. she gave very emotional testimony saying she didn t plan to hurt anyone, she didn t intend to hurt anyone. they herd her yelling taser, taser, taser, perhaps jurors are believing kim potter s testimony and wanting to see how easy would it be to make that kind of mistake. it seems concerning to me that they did not accept kim potter s own words. she pretty much admitted her conduct was unreasonable. we saw that she failed to render aid to him, that she failed to contact the other police officers, call 911, do those
earl grey argued under the law potter had a right to use deadly force during the incident since daunte wright tried to flee the scene. tragically, but she didn t know she had a gun either. and then he said, you shot me. and being alone, what does he do, stand there and say, help me out? he takes off. and you see the video. he goes like a jet. reporter: potter testified in her own defense friday. we were struggling, we were trying to keep him from driving away. it just, it just went chaotic. and then i remember yelling taser, taser, taser. did they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she caused this death? no. daunte wright caused his own
earl gray pushed even further saying daunte wright is to blame. she says taser, taser, taser and he should okay, stop, i give up. daunte wright caused his own death, unfortunately. reporter: a characterization prosecutors took issue with. i want you to consider if we accept that argument, that he caused his own death, we have to accept that anytime a person does not meticulously follow the commands of a police officer, they can be shot to death. that s absurd. reporter: monday s closing arguments came after eight days of testimony and over 30 witnesses, including kim potter. and remember yelling taser, taser, taser and nothing happened. and then, he told me i shot him. i m sorry it happened. reporter: but prosecutors emphasized monday intent isn t what the jury will be deciding. an accidental killing is