The former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she killed Daunte Wright will be sentenced Friday for manslaughter.
Kim Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist. She’ll be sentenced only on the most serious charge of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a presumptive penalty of just over seven years in prison.
Prosecutors have said the presumptive sentence is proper, while the defense has asked for a lesser sentence, including one of probation only.
Wright was killed after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin’s trial on murder charges in George Floyd’s killing, sparked several days of demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Center police station marked by tear gas and clashes between protesters and police.
Canadian police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada’s capital by hundreds of truckers angry over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Officers were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers and other vehicles parked on Ottawa’s snow-covered streets.
Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were led away in handcuffs. One person being taken away carried a sign that read “Mandate Freedom.”
Many of the truckers remained defiant.
“Freedom was never free,” said trucker Kevin Homaund, of Montreal. “So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?”
Police made their first move to end the occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two key protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
The capital represented the movement’s last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They also shook Canada’s reputation for civility, with some foes of the unrest blaming the influence of the United States.
During the month of February, St. Thomas is incorporating events that are centered around celebrating Black History Month, hoping to spark students’ curiosity in Black culture.
“Black history helps us really understand where we are as a nation,” Nayely Becerra Castillo, Student Diversity and Inclusion Services assistant director, said.
Using TommieLink, students can find events that are based around educating themselves on what the month truly means.
“When it comes to Black History Month, we take that extra initiative to honor and to recognize the designation, but the work is continuous,” Kha Yang, associate vice president for inclusive excellence, said. “Anti-racism is not just about the Black experience; it’s about the experiences of the different communities and the challenges that they face. It’s an everyday journey.”
Chief Video Editor Emily Rudie can be reached at emily.rudie@stthomas.edu.