Kim Potter, ex-Minnesota officer, found guilty of manslaughter in death of Daunte Wright

A Minneapolis jury on Thursday convicted former police officer Kim Potter on all charges she faced for fatally shooting Black motorist Daunte Wright — with a gun and not her Taser — earlier this year. Potter showed no emotion as the Hennepin County panel found her guilty of first-degree manslaughter, meaning she improperly used “such force and violence that death of or great bodily harm to any person was reasonably foreseeable.” The former Brooklyn Center officer said she accidentally killed Wright, shooting him with her Glock when she meant to fire her Taser. Jurors also found the white former officer guilty of second-degree manslaughter charge, which only required a finding of “culpable negligence” that created “unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.” Jurors found her guilty of the lesser charge on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. CST, according to jury forms read in court. The panel reached its verdict on the more serious charge on Thursday at 11:40 a.m., jurors said on their verdict form. "We have a degree of accountability for Daunte’s death," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters outside court. "Accountability is not justice ... 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.” The victim's mother, Katie Bryant, thanked prosecutors and community supporters during this “long fight for accountability." “The moment that we heard 'guilty' on manslaughter 1, emotions — every single emotion that you could imagine — just running through your body at that moment," Bryant said of her reaction to the verdicts. "I kind of let out a yelp because it was built up in the anticipation of what was to come while we were waiting for the last few days." Potter faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars. The jury consisted of one Black person, two Asian American people and nine white people. Judge Regina Chu ordered Potter taken into custody with her bail revoked, over the objections of defense attorneys. Chu said Potter is looking at serious time behind bars "and I am going to require that she be taken into custody and held without bail.” “I cannot treat this case any differently than any other case,” Chu said. While the verdicts were read, and in the moments of courtroom argument immediately after, was not demonstrative other than a brief moment when she crossed herself. Potter was handcuffed and both of her attorneys put their hands on her shoulders before she was taken away. Her sentencing was set for Feb. 18. Ellison said he felt sympathy for Potter and her family, but added: "She will be able to correspond with them and sit with them no matter what happens. But the Wrights won't be able to talk to Daunte." Wright’s fatal shooting on April 11 happened about 10 miles from the courthouse where former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was on trial for the slaying of George Floyd. Days later, Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of second and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, in the May 25, 2020, killing of Floyd, a Black man, whose death touched off a summer of national protests calling for an end to institutional racism. Potter’s trial was held in the same courtroom where Chauvin’s trial was carried out. Potter's defense team left the courthouse without speaking to reporters on Thursday. But as they were arguing for continued freedom on bail, defense attorney Earl Gray repeated Potter's insistence at trial that Wright's death was an "accident." “She’s not going to run, she’s obviously, she’s not going to commit any more crimes," Gray told the judge. “She’s been convicted of an accident. She’s been convicted of being reckless.” A tearful Potter testified in her own defense last week and described a “chaotic” scene that required her to make a split-second decision. Wright was being arrested on an outstanding weapons charge when he tried getting back into his car. Potter testified that she feared for the safety of another officer, Sgt. Mychal Johnson, who was struggling with Wright from the passenger side. Potter holstered her Glock on her right, dominant side and her Taser on the left. The prosecution played video from Potter’s body camera for jurors, showing how the officer had the Glock in her hand for at least five seconds before firing the deadly round. The Glock used to kill Wright weighed 2.11 pounds, compared to the .94-pound Taser that emanates light and needed a safety switch to be pulled before use, prosecutors said.

Originally posted by David K. Li NBCNews

The Case of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, racism or not?

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is a semi-truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years in prison in Colorado  on December 13, 2021, after being convicted of 27 counts stemming from a fatal 2019 accident that killed four people along Interstate 70.

A petition drive urging Colorado’s governor to grant Aguilera-Mederos, then 23, a sentence commutation or clemency has been signed by more than 4.2 million people as of December 19, 2021. His full name is sometimes given as Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos.

In addition, the hashtag #NoTrucksToColorado is trending on TikTok, Twitter and Facebook, as many truckers say they will not travel through Colorado as a result of what they believe to be an extreme sentence. “Me and my brother have decided that we (Brown Eagle LLC) have joined the protest and are not getting any loads out of or to Colorado until Rogel gets justice cause 110 years is ridiculous. The company should be held accountable!” wrote one trucker on Twitter.

“We are aware of this issue, the Governor and his team review each clemency application individually,” the Colorado governor’s office told 9News.

Colorado judge A. Bruce Jones sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to 110 years in prison — effectively a life sentence — for the crash, which occurred when Aguilera-Mederos’s semi-truck rammed into stopped traffic on April 25, 2019.

According to the Associated Press, he told investigators at the time that “his brakes had failed on his truck that was hauling lumber and he noticed his truck was traveling 85 mph … before the crash.” Prosecutors said he could have used a runaway truck ramp but instead rammed into the stopped traffic, causing a 28-vehicle crash, the Associated Press reported.

In addition to the four who died, six people were wounded and “fire began to engulf the crash scene, triggering explosions and a fire so intense that it melted the roadway and metal off cars,” according to the Associated Press.

“I-70 crash suspect in custody. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos (DOB: 11/21/95) arrested for suspicion of multiple counts of Vehicular Homicide,” wrote Lakewood police at the time.

In October 2021 a jury found Aguilera-Mederos guilty of 27 counts, including four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of careless driving causing death, according to the Denver Post.

Jones said Colorado’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws forced the lengthy sentence, requiring him to issue consecutive sentences. “I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,” the judge said, according to the outlet.

“In all victim impact statements I read, I did not glean from them someone saying, ‘He should be in prison for the rest of his life, and he should never, ever get out,” Jones said, according to 9News. “Far from it. There was forgiveness reflected in those statements, but also a desire that he be punished and serve time in prison, and I share those sentiments.”

Domingo Garcia, the national president of LULAC, a Latino civil rights organization, told The Denver Channel that the sentence was not just and blamed the district attorney, Alexis King, for filing so many charges. As a result of the number of charges filed, the consecutive terms added up to a life sentence, Garcia said.

“This case is so egregious,” Garcia said to the television station. “It boggles the mind that here we are in 2021 and that somebody who was not intoxicated, not on drugs… It’s an accident, the brakes went out. But here’s the Latino driver, he gets charged, convicted and given 110 years of prison on his first offense.”

The DA has defended the prosecution.

King told The Denver Channel in part, “We initiated plea negotiations but Mr. Aguilera-Mederos declined to consider anything other than a traffic ticket. The facts and consequences of his decisions that day were extraordinary enough to support pursuing first-degree assault charges. Ethically, we do not – nor can we – pick and choose between victims in charging. The jury’s thoughtful verdict reflects the strength of the evidence presented and recognizes the harm caused to the victims. The sentence – which our office requested the minimum for – is within the purview of the court and reflects the judgment of the legislature. Just as the law mandates this outcome, it also provides future opportunity to revisit the sentence, and we will again pursue an appropriate outcome if that opportunity arises, after consulting with the victims and survivors and receiving their input.”

Former DA Peter Weir filed the charges, according to Westword.

According to Westword, the defense argued that his truck had multiple mechanical problems. When his brakes failed, Aguilera-Mederos testified that he considered but ruled out other options, worrying he would “wind up in the path of oncoming traffic on the other side of the highway” or cause an explosion if he crashed into a bridge. He swerved to slow down, the site reported.

The Denver Post reported that Aguilera-Mederos tried to flee the scene.

A petition to help Aguilera-Mederos has been signed by 4.2 million people.

“We all know of the crash that happened on I-70 in Denver, Colorado. Most of us have heard facts in the case. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23 has nothing on his driving record, or on his criminal history. He had complied with every single request by the Jefferson County courts, and investigators on the case,” the petition says.

“He’s passed all of the drug and alcohol tests that were given including a chemical test. This accident was not intentional, nor was it a criminal act on the drivers part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident.”

It continues: “No, we are not trying to make it seem any less of a tragic accident that it is because yes, lives were lost. We are trying to hold the person who needs to be held responsible, responsible. The trucking company has had several inspections since 2017, with several mechanical violations.”

It adds, “There are many things Rogel could have done to avoid the courts, but he took responsibility showed up and severely apologized to the victims families. Some of the families even offered Forgiveness. Rogel is not a criminal, the company he was working for knew the federal laws that go into truck driving but they failed to follow those laws. Rogel has said several times that he wishes he had the courage to crash and take his own life that day, this tragic accident wasn’t done with Intent, it wasnt a criminal act, it was an accident. Since he has been sentenced, i have changed this to granting Rogel clemency or commutation-as time served.”

Aguilera-Mederos spoke to a reporter with CBS4 from the local jail. “I am crying all the time, I think about it and I have flashbacks,” he told journalist Rick Sallinger before he was sentenced.

He told Sallinger he tried to avoid the vehicles. “My life is not a happy life. It is a very sad life because four people died,” he said in that interview.

The station reported that he could have pulled off a runaway truck ramp, but explained, “When you lost your brakes, your mind is blocking.”

During his sentencing hearing, he also showed great remorse. “I am not a criminal. I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life,” he said during his sentencing, according to The Denver Post. The outlet reported that he wept, saying, “I lost my brakes. The truck drivers, they know it’s a hard moment, you can’t do anything. You can’t do anything.”

According to the Associated Press, Aguilera-Mederos is “a green card holder from Cuba” who was living in Houston at the time of the crash.

He had no prior criminal record, and his lawyer said in court that he valued his life in America, according to CBS Denver. 9News Legal Expert Scott Robinson told the 9News television station that the judge has the ability to review the sentence.

“Colorado’s violent crimes statute gives judges some discretion after 180 days have passed,” Robinson said to 9News. “Here, the sentencing judge, Bruce Jones, will have an opportunity to determine whether there were unusual and extenuating circumstances which would justify a reduction in the sentences imposed.”

According to The Denver Post, “Jones said he may revise the sentence in the future if Aguilera-Mederos seeks a review, and that he had ‘no desire to see’ Aguilera-Mederos in prison for the rest of his life.”

According to Westword, Aguilera-Mederos is indigent.

Originally reported by: Jessica McBride

Bittersweet Legal Outcome

It’s a good thing justice was served in the case of Ahmoud Arbery. The conviction and sentencing of these three killers is definitely a blow of fresh air to the already stricken and hurt black community.

However, after the whole thing happened, when we think about it calmly, with cool head, relaxed, you realize that there are several reflections that in any case shouldn’t be there in the first place.

For instance, why we get so happy and wired after the verdict? Isn’t it obvious? Why it has to be nationally celebrated such an evident murder case? Why be so content with the bare minimum? Is it fair that the whole thing could’ve been forgotten if it weren’t because a leaked video and national protests.

How used we are of unjust sentences and white privilege that we feel obliged to celebrate when a just sentence is served, isn’t that sad? Or in any case isn’t that a sign of re-visit the whole justice system and the systemic racism that is permeating each and every institution in America?

At this point, the celebration turns into frustration, again; into desperation, again; into hope, again. Is there real hope that someday such evident cases of blatant racism and clear murder when the victim is a person of color will be judged no matter the race? Would that be possible in America?

The Rittenhouse trial or circus.

Miami, FL - At this point, I really don't know what's left to watch in the Rittenhouse trial: the judge making racial jokes or Rittenhouse attempt to a mockery tearless cry a-la-Hollywood style or the very accused reaching into a raffle drum and drew numbered slips that determined which of the 18 jurors who sat through the case would deliberate and which ones would be dismissed as alternates, which is a never-seen thing according not only to the general public but to specialized attorneys and journalists. All that before deliberations even started.

Today, 7 women, 5 men and 1 person of color will decide the future of Rittenhouse that, I hope for the well-being of the nation, the jury find him guilty because, he is. If you see the video, which is fully documented and even with different angles of vision, you can tell with no doubt that he not only started the whole situation, which is one of the most solid arguments of the prosecution: "You can't argue self-defense when you start the crisis", but you can clearly see that the accused doesn't have any respect for human life.

I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a specialist in legal matters, but I have common sense, criteria and know a thing or two about certain procedures related to what happened that night and I can state, confidently, that the accused is absolutely guilty of all the charges.

However, if he is acquitted or at least from the major charges, it will be a natural consequence of a racist-based criminal justice system, a systemic racism in the fabric of the American society and it will propel a social and civil unrest similar to the one caused by Floyd's death and to be honest, I think it will be totally fair because the accused deserves to be in prison for murdering to people and hurting a third one based only on his skin color and his racism, prejudice and utter ignorance of what morality, empathy and a peaceful society mean.

RM