Kim Potter Found Guilty, But Verdict 'Falls Short Of Justice'

Megan VerHelst
Updated ·5 min read
The family of Daunte Wright celebrates a guilty verdict for Kim Potter outside of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. Potter was found guilty Thursday of two counts of manslaughter for Wright's death. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
The family of Daunte Wright celebrates a guilty verdict for Kim Potter outside of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. Potter was found guilty Thursday of two counts of manslaughter for Wright's death. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
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ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Friday, Dec. 24, and Christmas Eve if you celebrate it. If you’re enjoying a long weekend at home with family, make time for a movie or two. Here are a few new releases that should not be missed.

Meanwhile, here’s a look at the stories we’re following today:

  • Federal health officials approved a second pill to fight COVID-19.

  • Joan Didion, author and essayist known for her provocative writing, has died.

  • New York City is scaling back its plans for New Year’s Eve.

  • An Amazon driver stepped in to thwart a violent dog attack.

Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, was found guilty of both first- and second-degree manslaughter by a Hennepin County jury Thursday.

Potter was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom following the verdict. Sentencing is set for Feb. 18. Potter will face up to 15 years in prison in sentencing.

Potter is the third Twin Cities metro police officer to be convicted of manslaughter or murder since 2019. Earlier in 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.

After the verdict was read, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the verdict brought a measure of accountability for Potter but fell short of justice.

“Justice would be restoring Daunte to life and making the Wright family whole again," Ellison said. "Justice is beyond the reach that we have in this life for Daunte. But accountability is an important step, a critical necessary step on the road to justice for us all.” » Ex-Cop Kim Potter Found Guilty In Shooting Death Of Daunte Wright, via Southwest Minneapolis Patch

Second COVID Pill Authorized

Federal health officials on Thursday gave the green light to a second pill developed to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms in adults, according to an announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The authorization comes just a day after the agency cleared Paxlovid, a competing drug from Pfizer. » FDA Authorizes Second Pill To Treat COVID-19 In Adults, via Across America Patch

Joan Didion Dies At 87

Joan Didion, author and essayist known for her provocative social and personal commentary in books including "The Year of Magical Thinking" and "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," has died, according to multiple reports. She was 87 years old.

Didion's publisher, Penguin Random House, announced the author's death Thursday. She died from complications from Parkinson's disease, the company said. » Joan Didion, Revered Author And Essayist, Dies At 87, via Malibu Patch

NYE Scaled Back In NYC

New York City will scale back its plans to welcome tens of thousands of revelers into Times Square to ring in 2022 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant. About 15,000 people will be allowed into Times Square's viewing areas on Dec. 31 — about a quarter of the typical capacity of 58,000. Visitors also won’t be allowed to enter until 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve — much later than in past years, according to the mayor's office. » Times Square New Year's Eve Scaled Back Amid Omicron, Mayor Says, via Midtown-Hell’s Kitchen Patch

More national headlines on Patch, other news websites:

This photo provided by Sonny "Hoot" Gibson shows Madix the cat, who was found in the rubble of Gibson's Mayfield, Kentucky, office building nine days after a tornado devastated much of the town. (Sonny "Hoot" Gibson via AP)
This photo provided by Sonny "Hoot" Gibson shows Madix the cat, who was found in the rubble of Gibson's Mayfield, Kentucky, office building nine days after a tornado devastated much of the town. (Sonny "Hoot" Gibson via AP)

Around ‘The Patch’

As Sonny "Hoot" Gibson stood in the rubble of his demolished three-story office building in downtown Mayfield, nine days after a deadly tornado decimated parts of the city, he heard the faint meow of his missing office cat, via Across Kentucky Patch

Three Louisiana siblings are dead and their mother is in critical condition after their vehicle was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver as they were driving home from a high school basketball game last week, via Shreveport Patch

More local news:

House Hunting

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This Day In History

In 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II.

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This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch