Former police officer Kim Potter found guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright's death

Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter has been found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop-turned-arrest in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Potter, 49, showed little emotion as the verdict was read in the Minneapolis courtroom. One of her attorneys put his face down on the table, visibly upset. Potter's husband and Wright's parents sat in the courtroom, and Wright's mother began sobbing as the first-degree conviction was read.

Defense attorneys asked for Potter to be released on bail until sentencing, but the judge denied the motion and ordered Potter taken into custody. Attorney Paul Engh said Potter was "remorseful," not a threat to the public and a "devoted Catholic" who hoped to spend the holidays with family.

Prosecutors argued in favor of taking Potter into custody, noting Potter has been living out of state.

"I cannot treat this case any differently than any other case," Hennepin County District Court Judge Regina Chu said in her ruling.

As deputies took Potter into custody, Potter's husband, Jeff Potter, shouted, "Love you, Kim!" from the back of the courtroom. Potter turned and said, "Love you," as deputies handcuffed her.

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Outside the courthouse, people played music and cheered. Attorneys for Wright’s family said the verdict "provided some measure of accountability for the senseless death of their son, brother, father and friend."

"From the unnecessary and overreaching tragic traffic stop to the shooting that took his life, that day will remain a traumatic one for this family and yet another example for America of why we desperately need change in policing, training and protocols," attorneys Benjamin Crump, Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms said in a statement.

In a press conference, Wright's mother, Katie Bryant, thanked prosecutors and supporters. "We want to thank everyone who has supported us in this long fight for accountability," Bryant said.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison thanked jurors for their "careful attention and deliberation" and said he hoped the verdict provided "a measure of healing."

Ellison also spoke to law enforcement officers, saying the verdict "restores trust, faith and hope" because it "shows that those of you who enforce the law are also willing to live by it."

"We hold you in high regard. We also hold you to high standards. We don’t want you to be discouraged,” Ellison said.

'I'm so sorry':Ex-cop Kim Potter describes 'chaotic' moment she shot Daunte Wright

Attorneys for Wright's family asked for the "strongest and most just sentence possible" for Potter and called on the Brooklyn Center Police Department to "pinpoint its systemic failures that contributed to Daunte’s unlawful death." The Wright family will be allowed to make a victim impact statement during sentencing, Ellison said.

"If we are ever going to restore the confidence of Black and marginalized Americans in law enforcement, we need to have accountability and a commitment to listening and to creating meaningful change," the attorneys said.

Attorneys for Potter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict.

Potter was expected to return for sentencing Feb. 18, 2022. The first-degree manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine. The second-degree charge has a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine.

For someone with no criminal history, the presumptive sentence for first-degree manslaughter in Minnesota is about six to eight-and-a-half years, according to state guidelines.

The verdict comes after the predominantly white jury deliberated for more than 27 hours.

Potter, who is white, fatally shot 20-year-old Wright, who was Black, while yelling "Taser." She and a trainee officer said they pulled Wright's vehicle over on April 11 because he had a blinker on in the wrong turn lane, expired tabs and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.

The officers discovered Wright had a warrant for arrest on a weapons violation and an order of protection against him, and they attempted to detain him. During the struggle, Potter fatally shot Wright, who drove down the street and crashed into an oncoming vehicle, injuring the passenger in his car as well as two others.

'I miss him':Daunte Wright's father tells jury about his son in trial of Kim Potter

Defense attorneys said Potter, a veteran police officer, mistook her firearm for a Taser but was justified in using deadly force to prevent another officer from being injured.

Prosecutors said Potter recklessly handled her firearm and caused Wright's death through her "culpable negligence" – a conscious and disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. They also said Potter abused her position of authority and "caused a greater than normal danger" to the safety of other people nearby – aggravating factors prosecutors say merit harsher sentencing.

Mike Brandt, a Minneapolis defense attorney who followed the trial, said he was surprised by the outcome.

"I really felt like the burden of 'reckless' conduct was a big one, and from what I saw, I don't know what her actions were that could be considered reckless," Brandt said. "The culpable negligence was a closer call, but I'm still surprised."

Rachel Moran, an associate law professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, said the jury’s guilty verdicts were "a clear rejection of the defense attorneys’ arguments that she was justified even in firing her gun."

"I suspect that those arguments may have hurt the defense attorneys’ credibility with the jury," Moran said.

'I tried to scream his name':Girlfriend recalls moment Kim Potter shot Daunte Wright

Prosecutors presented their case over the course of six days earlier this month, offering eyewitness testimony, dozens of police and body camera videos and scores of slides and training documents on use-of-force policies, Tasers and more.

The defense called multiple witnesses over the course of two days, concluding with Potter's testimony. Potter cried on the stand when she recounted the "chaotic" moment she shot Wright.

"We were struggling. We were trying to keep him from driving away. It just went chaotic," Potter testified. "And then, I remember yelling 'Taser, Taser, Taser' and nothing happened. And then (Wright) told me I shot him."

Potter shot Wright just miles from the ongoing murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, later convicted of murdering George Floyd. The incident set off multiple days of protests and looting in the area and inflamed nationwide tensions over police violence in the U.S.

Earlier this month, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he was prepared to ask the National Guard to respond to assist local law enforcement during the trial "out of an abundance of caution." Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Center School Board extended winter break in anticipation of the conclusion of the trial, according to school officials.