A Minnesota jury has found ex-officer Kim Potter, 46, guilty of first-degree manslaughter predicated on reckless use/handling of a firearm and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 shooting death of Daunte Wright.
District Judge Regina Chu promptly denied the defense's request to return home amid sentencing.
"I cannot treat this case any differently than any other case," Judge Chu said.
Potter was immediately taken into custody after the verdict and has no option for bail. Jeff Potter, the 46-year-old's husband, was heard shouting "I love you" as his wife was being escorted out. Potter returned his sentiments before leaving the building in handcuffs.
The verdict comes after more than 24 hours of deliberation over a period of four days.
Potter, now convicted, faces up to 25 years behind bars.
First-degree manslaughter predicated on reckless use/handling of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars and/or a $30,000 fine. Second-degree manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars and/or a $20,000 fine.
Sentencing has been scheduled for February 18.
Family members of Wright celebrated the verdict as they waited both inside and outside of the courthouse.
Hours prior, Wright's loved ones could be heard calling for Potter to be fully convicted for her actions on April 11.
"What do we want? Justice! If we don't get it—shut it down!" chanted the late Minneapolis resident's loved ones.
Damik Wright, the victim's brother, did not censor himself when it came to his feelings about Potter.
"We're happy with the verdict and we're happy with everything, and excuse my language, but we're gonna let that b*tch rot in hell," he said of the convicted.
Damik Wright also made a brief and vague remark about so-called supporters who, in his view, did not live up to their words.
"We're not doing this for nobody but for my moms and my pops," he asserted. "And it's been a lot of people that's been standing in our corner since day one, and it's a lot of people that said they were gonna be here that's not."
The April 11, 2021 shooting death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, occurred alongside the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd. Chauvin's trial wrapped some nine days later.
Family images play on a screen before funeral services for Daunte Wright at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Wright, 20, was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer during a traffic stop.
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
Activists, including those in support of the Black Lives Matter movement abruptly rallied behind Wright and made his name a viral hashtag. At the same time, law enforcement officials in Minnesota defended Potter and her claim of a mix-up between a Taser and handgun.
Matthew Frank, an assistant attorney general at the Office of the Minnesota AG, served as the lead prosecutor in both the Chauvin and Potter trials. Erin Eldridge, who also serves as an assistant AG, was involved in both trials.
While Chauvin's team was stacked with over a dozen lawyers—both paid and charity—Potter was represented by Amanda Montgomery, Paul Engh, and Earl Gray, who notably represented Jeronimo Yanez, the officer ultimately acquitted in the July 2016 shooting death of Philando Castile.