Hennepin County District Judge Regina Chu in Minnesota choked up as she explained why she sentenced Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter to just two years in the shooting death of Daunte Wright.
Potter says she intended to pull out her taser but instead grabbed her Glock 9mm service pistol in April 2021 before shooting Wright during a traffic stop and attempted arrest for an outstanding warrant.
Chu called that a “tragic mistake” while “acting in the line of duty…a snap decision under tense evolving and everchanging circumstances,” reported CNN.
The judge described her two-year sentence as a “significant downward departure” from the guidelines for a first and second-degree manslaughter conviction that called for a sentence of up to eight and a half years.
“I feel cheated. I feel hurt. I’m very upset that my son’s life was taken, and it seemed to me nobody even cared enough,” said Arbuey Wright, Daunte Wright’s father said as he broke down in tears outside the courthouse, reported the Guardian.
“A white woman’s tears trumped justice,” added Wright’s mother, Katie Bryant.
About 100 protesters gathered outside Judge Chu’s home Friday night. WCCO reports police confirmed one report of attempted looting of a beauty store, but there were no other reports of other lawlessness.
According to Patch, Governor Jesse Ventura appointed Chu to the bench in 2002 and voters elected her in 2004, 2010, and 2016. She is up for reelection this year.
She sits on the board of Asian Women United of Minnesota and Asian Women United of Minnesota.
The high-profile case has made Chu a target. Cortez A. Rice, 32, is accused of trying to intimidate her.
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