Daunte Wright’s Family Speaks Out Following Kim Potter’s Conviction: “We Have Gotten Accountability”

Daunte Wright‘s mother took the time to thank those who supported her family and her late son.

She said she is now able to exhale after former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of her son on Thursday.

“Today, we have gotten accountability,” Katie Wright said while standing outside the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after Potter’s conviction.

Daunte’s parents, Katie and Arbuey Wright, also gave thanks to the community for their solidarity and commitment to see justice for their son, who was killed during a traffic stop in April.

“We love you. we appreciate you,” Katie Wright said. ” And honestly, we could not have done it without you. Daunte’s favorite number was 23, and today is the 23rd.”

The family’s attorney, Ben Crump, made a separate statement saying the Wright family was relieved that the criminal legal system delivered “accountability for the senseless death of their son, brother, father and friend.”

“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,” Crump said in a written statement. “It is also imperative that we focus on the conduct of Brooklyn Center and pinpoint its systemic failures that contributed to Daunte’s unlawful death.”

Potter was found guilty on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges after she fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black man. The killing took place during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on April 11, 2021.

The charges carry a prison term of up to 25 years.

Police body-camera footage shows the officer, who resigned from the force following the incident, shouting “Taser! Taser! Taser!” before shooting the victim in his chest.

Potter and her defense team said that she intended to grab her taser instead of her gun when she fired the shot that killed Wright.

Wright’s death happened during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd, a black man.