Rachel Moran, associate professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, recently spoke with the Associated Press about how learning from someone like Kim Potter, who was convicted of killing Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in 2021, could encourage better understanding and accountability in policing.
From the story:
A former Minnesota police officer who was convicted of killing a Black motorist when she used her handgun instead of her taser during a traffic stop is out of prison and delivering presentations at law enforcement conferences, stirring up a heated debate over how officers punished for misconduct should atone for their misdeeds.
After Kim Potter served her sentence for killing Daunte Wright, she met with the prosecutor who charged her case. That former prosecutor, Imran Ali, said Potter wanted to do something to help other officers avoid taking a life. Ali saw the presentation as a path toward redemption for police officers who have erred and an opportunity to promote healing in communities already shaken by police misconduct. ...
Rachel Moran, a professor specializing in police accountability at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said the perspectives of victims and their families should be considered by law enforcement agencies when they decide who to include at training sessions. But Potter’s voice might be able to penetrate a law enforcement culture that is skeptical of outside criticism, she said.
“Police officers culturally do have a pattern of not wanting to hear outside perspectives and not believing other people can understand the situation,” she added. “So to hear from someone who is very much in their shoes, who’s actually willing to admit an error, I think that has potential to be heard more by officers than an outsider.”
