CCBA Press Release Regarding Officer Kimberly Potter

The Cook County Bar Association applauds the guilty verdict entered against Kimberly Potter for the tragic killing of Daunte Wright. Kimberly Potter was convicted of two counts of manslaughter after she mistook her gun for a Taser, and fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on April 11, 2021. 

We know that minorities, whether armed or unarmed, have significantly higher death rates and violent encounters with police. Yet, it is comforting to again see the justice ring from the halls of a Minnesota courtroom. All actions have consequences, and not knowing the difference between a Taser and a gun, even if one is under duress, costs lives. 

Daunte Wright was only 20-years-old and should be alive today. That he isn’t , his killer be met with a sentence recognizing the fact that Daunte's life had value.