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Kim Potter Receives 2-Year Sentence For Killing Daunte Wright

(Photo by Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images)

Melanie Wilcox Contributor
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Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $1,000 on Friday, after her conviction in the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who she fatally shot during a traffic stop in April.

Wright was pulled over for an expired registration before police officers realized he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, according to The Associated Press.

Bodycam footage from Potter shows Wright jumping into his car, attempting to flee arrest. As one officer tries to apprehend Wright, Potter screams she would tase him.

“I’ll tase you! I’ll tase you!”

“Taser! Taser! Taser! Taser!”

Potter fired a single shot into Wright’s midsection before he drove off and crashed his car. In apparent disbelief, she said, “I just shot him.” (RELATED: Attorney General Keith Ellison Ups The Charges Against Officer Who Shot, Killed Daunte Wright)

At a press conference, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters the officer accidentally drew her firearm instead of her taser. Gannon then resigned.

Potter was then found guilty in December of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges after fatally shooting Wright. She could have faced up to 25 years in prison, The New York Times reported. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Katie Ann Wright, Wright’s mother, said, “I will never be able to forgive you for what you have stolen from us. You took his future,” according to ABC.

“My life and my world will never be the same,” she added, according to ABC.

Judge Regina Chu called the sentence a “significant downward departure” from sentencing guidelines, ABC reported.

“This is one of the saddest cases I have had in my 20 years on the bench,” Chu said when delivering the sentence, according to ABC. “Officer Potter made a mistake that ended tragically, but she never intended to hurt anyone.”