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Victims Make Impact Statements at Sentencing of Ex-Officer Kim Potter; Judge Orders Trump, Don Jr, Ivanka to Sit for Depositions. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 18, 2022 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

DAMIK BRYANT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S BROTHER: He was killed by someone who is on the force longer than any of my parents' children have been alive, who was a field training officer at that. We know the charges are manslaughter but we believe what happened to Daunte was murder. When I got that call about Daunte, I couldn't believe it. I fell to the ground in pain like no one should have to go through. It was the hardest time of our life.

We lost a very special person, so I write this letter to you, Daunte Demetrius Wright. We miss you more than ever, our lives aren't normal anymore. I think about you every day. I lost not only my best friend but my baby brother. I would remember when we would play games when we were young and you would get mad if you lost and you would start crying and turn red in the face because you didn't win.

I remember when me, you and dad and everybody used to go fishing and we would argue over who's going to catch the biggest fish. Everything was a competition between us boys. Now we won't be able to compete with each other anymore. I won't be able to see you get old. I won't be able to hear your voice change. I won't be able to tell you I love you one last time. I think about this stuff every day.

You were stripped away from us. This has been the longest most alone miserable times of our life. We never felt a pain like this. We lost a very important piece to our family. I promise I will never give up fighting for you because that's what big brothers do. So I wrote this little poem I have.

Your memory is my keepsake, we'll never be apart. God has you in his keeping but we'll have you in our heart. You never said I'm leaving. You never said a good-bye. You were gone before we knew it and only God knows why. There has been a million times that we needed you and a million times we cried. If our love could have saved you, you never would have died. In life I love you dearly, and death I love you still. And our hearts a place that no one could ever feel. It broke our heart to lose you but you didn't go alone, for part of us was with you when God called you home.

I promise to my family that I would take care of everybody including our siblings, Dallas, Destiny, Diamond, Monica, Marcus and of course your baby Daunte Jr. I cannot express how painful it was for our family to see the defendant smiling in her mug shot immediately after being convicted of killing my brother. I respectfully ask the court to give a strong sentence that accounts for the severe pain and loss that our family has experienced.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. Rest in peace, Daunte Wright.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Diamond Wright, please come forward. And Miss Wright, will you please spell -- state and spell your name.

DIAMOND WRIGHT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S SISTER: Diamond Wright, D-I-A-M-O-N-D W-R-I-G-H-T.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

D. WRIGHT: Hi, my name is Diamond Wright. I am Daunte Wright's second youngest sister. I never thought in a lifetime that I'd be standing here doing this. I never thought that my brother would be killed. Sorry. Would be killed by the same people we're supposed to be protected by. I know that the charge is manslaughter but I believe this should be called murder. Ever since my brother was killed, my heart has been shattered and the only thing that's putting it back together is the memories we shared.

I feel like I've been in a complete nightmare. It got so bad to the point I couldn't sleep. I stopped eating and even got depressed. The death of a loved one is not only an emotional pain but also a physical pain. The defendant should be prosecuted and sentenced to the highest extent. You can't tell me this was an accident. It's in plain sight. She's been a police officer longer than my brother has been alive.

How come I have to go see my brother in a metal container just to talk to him? How come I have to pray that my brother hears me cry out to him? How come my family has to groan and moan about the loss of a loved one just because the defendants actually were reckless?

Daunte was my brother, my blood. Someone who was supposed to grow old with me. How is it that I'm going to see the age of 21 and he didn't? He didn't get to experience the life he was supposed to. Watch his kids and parents grow old and not many of you know Daunte and I couldn't care less on what anyone else thinks of him. You don't know him. He could light up a whole stadium with his smile and laugh.

I miss him stealing food from my momma's cooking at family functions. I miss when he would play fight with me and my little sister. I miss him and I will trade anyone in this room to get him back.

[10:35:06]

Everyone just sees this as another black man getting killed by the police but not us. This one hit home. This time, it was one of us. Every day I would walk around and it feels like I'm really not here. It feels like I'm just an empty body taking up space. You took my other half.

I remember when Daunte was alive and the George Floyd killing was discussed a lot. Me and my mom and Daunte were having a talk saying just maybe we have enough white in us for us not to be a threat to the police. We were wrong. We have repeatedly seen that one hint of black in our skin makes us a target. This is sickening.

I miss you, Daunte. I miss your smile, your laugh, the way you twirled your hair when you were nervous or thinking about something. I miss when you used to come upstairs just to talk stuff and then run back down. You were a great big brother. You taught your sisters how to be tough, how to listen and how to calm down when we were upset. You really did your big brother role well.

I love you, Daunte, and you always will be in my heart until we meet again. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Miss Chyna Walker -- Whitaker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now if we can just have a moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: You've just been listening to the sentencing hearing in the Kim Potter case. As we expect to hear the judge rule on her sentencing, prosecutors have been asking for more than seven years in prison and leading up to the judge's ruling. We heard emotional commentary and words from Daunte Wright's family, his parents, his brother, his sister.

We are now expecting to hear from Cynthia Whitaker, who is the mother of Daunte Wright's 1-year-old child.

I want to bring in CNN's Adrienne Broaddus as we await that testimony and words from her. I believe we just -- OK, let's listen in.

CHYNA MARIE WHITAKER, MOTHER OF DAUNTE WRIGHT'S SON: Chyna Marie Whitaker, C-H-Y-N-A, Marie, M-A-R-I-E, Whitaker, W-H-I-T-A-K-E-R. Can I start? OK. My name is Chyna Whitaker. I am the mother of Daunte's only child, Daunte Wright, Jr. Daunte was born 25 weeks premature and had to stay in the NICU for a little over two months. During that time, his father and I were very concerned about him making a full recovery.

However, by the Grace of God, he is still here today. He is now 2 years old and since April 11th, 2021, fatherless. Kim Potter took my son's best friend away from him and things haven't been the same since. I am now a single mother, not by choice, by force. My son hasn't seen his dad in almost a year and I know he doesn't understand what's going on but he senses his dad being gone. He was used to spending time with his father.

Oftentimes he would stay the night with his dad and have bonding time. That gave me a chance to have a break when I need it. And now I can't even pick up the phone to call him. Due to this situation, my son is a lot more scattered and angry. He acts up a lot more. I now have him in school to learn and socialize with other children, to cope during this difficult time in our lives.

My child will no longer have the opportunity to spend birthdays or holidays with his dad. Daunte will never get to see his son's first day of preschool, elementary, high school or college. They didn't even get the chance to play ball or sports together. This is not the way it should be.

[10:40:04]

Every time I look at my son, I'm reminded of what was taken away from him. I show my son pictures and videos of his dad and his face lights up with the biggest smile and he says, dada. It hurts me because I know if he had a chance to see his dad again, it would fill the hole in his heart that is now there. I can't take the place of his father, neither can any other man. All I can do is hope and pray things get better for us.

I now suffer from severe PTSD, whenever I'm pulled over, I have extreme anxiety. Afraid of making a mistake and ending up something going wrong. I can't watch any movies or videos that have to do with police brutality because it reminds me of Daunte being killed. I got my son a poster of his dad that I keep in his bedroom. Many times, I just find him staring at it.

My son shouldn't have to wear a rest in peace shirt of his dad. Police are supposed to protect and serve the community. How will my son learn to trust police after what happened to his dad? I don't want my son to grow up afraid of the police or hating them. Nevertheless, it's only fair that Kim Potter be sentenced to the maximum amount of time for executing my son Daunte Jr.'s father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much. All right. We hear the defense arguments regarding sentencing. Mr. Ang?

GOLODRYGA: And you've just been listening to victim impact testimony from Daunte Wright's family, loved ones, and then at the end there the mother of his now 2-year-old son Daunte Jr.

I want to bring in CNN's Adrienne Broaddus, as well as Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, she's a former defense attorney and a former mayor of Baltimore.

Adrienne, let me begin with you. Just a brutal, gut-wrenching few minutes there as we heard from Daunte's mother first who said that Kim Potter left our world with so much darkness and heartache and only compared his loss to that feeling that a parent feels when they lose their child at a grocery store, except she feels that every day. His father calling Daunte my reason to do better and noting that Kim Potter was a police officer longer than my son was alive.

And then also to hear from the mother of his 2-year-old son saying I am a single mother not by choice but by force. All of this, Adrianne, the judge will now be taking in as she considers and announcing this sentencing.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, she will be taking it into consideration those statements from Daunte Wright's family. Chyna Whitaker, the mother of Daunte Wright's son, forced now to teach her son about his father through pictures and memories. Katie Bryant, emotional as she shared memories about her son, never

referring to Kim Potter by name but only calling Potter the defendant, pointing to the time Potter took the stand in her own defense in December. She mentioned that when Potter was on the stand, she never referred to Daunte Wright by his name, only calling him the driver. Katie Bryant saying, I will never be able to forgive you.

She also expressed an offense with that mug shot, that was taken moments after Potter was convicted. You may remember we've shared that mug shot on our social media pages.

GOLODRYGA: There it is. We're looking at it.

BROADDUS: It shows Potter, right there, smiling. She's asking, how do you show remorse when you are smiling? She also talked about the body camera video that we saw during the course of the trial when it was revealed Potter was rolling on the ground in agony and pain saying that she was going to go to prison. She tells her partners on the scene to call Chuck. If you don't remember, Chuck was Potter's union representative.

Katie Bryant said instead of worrying about herself, and I'm paraphrasing here, she should have been more concerned about her son, Daunte, saying she should have checked on her son to see if he was OK.

[10:45:10]

She should have said to her partner go help him, go save him. And Katie Bryant's other daughter also taking the stand, well, the podium there, talking about the brother that she lost who was younger in years compared to the amount of time Potter spent on the force -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, I want to bring you in because clearly that was compelling, emotional and just heartbreaking testimony that we heard from loved ones, no family should have to relay that on national television and go through what they did but from a legal standpoint, that's what you're really looking to see what the judge decides here.

What stood out to you from what you heard from the family? Because it seems that the issue of not showing remorse and the negligence, the father, his father saying that she had been a police officer longer than my son had been alive. Is this all going into the judge's ultimate decision here as to how long the sentence will be?

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, and before I get to that, I have to say, you know, as a mother myself, to listen to Miss Bryant talk about the loss of her son was heart wrenching. And my heart goes out to Daunte Wright's entire family because as the prosecutors have said, the defense have said, this was a tragic, tragic accident.

No one has claimed, in this whole time, that Kimberly Potter intended to pull her gun out. Everyone has agreed that it was a tragic error, and in that error, so much has been lost. So yes, a judge has to consider all of those things. And as a defense, a former defense attorney, the thing that I keep hearing them say is, you know, that they seem to want something to come from his loss, and that's where I think the defense attorney comes in and says, you know, her, Kimberly Potter sitting in jail is not going to stop the next officer from making a mistake.

We heard during the trial that weapon confusion is a thing. It happens across this country more times than we'd like to admit. And I think they will be really advocating for her to be someone who was on the front lines talking to officers around the country about the tragedy that can happen with weapon confusion and look for a lighter sentence as far as time incarceration and look for a longer probation opportunity where she can be hopefully a force for good.

This is something that she will never forget, just like Daunte Wright's family will never forget, and I think this is a unique opportunity if they can find a way to take it to put her on the front lines to do good so no other family will have to endure what we saw this family go through today in court.

GOLODRYGA: So, Stephanie, as you laid out what everyone knows, both the defense and the prosecution, that this was a tragic accident, let's talk about what role then the aftermath of that accident plays in this sentencing here because you heard Daunte Wright's mother, right, Katie say that Kim Potter never referred to Daunte by his name and the fact that his father talked about her lengthy career and how she had been in the police force for 26 years, longer than her son had been alive.

His mother once again saying, as Adrienne noted, that instead of asking for help immediately, she asked that her union rep be notified. Does this all go into the judge's consideration?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: I think it does, but all of those things can go both ways. We talk about Kimberly Potter's track record, her history in the department. 26 years, she was known for being overly aggressive, rude, she didn't have any blemishes on her record. She was actually a trainer. She is not known to be -- to make these type of mistakes. It's not like she's -- she was an officer who was consistently reckless, yet the department allowed her to go out and be a trainer and work on the streets.

That didn't happen. This is a person who had, as far as anyone has said, an exemplary record and on a day where it mattered to her and to Daunte Wright's family she made a tragic error. So yes, she's been on the force for 26 years and the prosecutor says that's all the reason you need to know that she should have known better and that the only way that she could have mistaken her gun for a taser was the level of recklessness that rises to criminality. But you also have to, you know, as I said, it goes both ways.

[10:50:02]

So, yes, the judge is going to take a look at those, what happened afterwards, is going to take a look at the reaction, but, you know, it's hard to say unless you've been there how you would react, and I will say, as a person who has felt the loss of a family member to gun violence, you know, sometimes you feel there's no amount of apology that will be enough for a family member.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. As we heard --

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: And it shouldn't be.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And as we heard Daunte's family say he's never coming back and even if Kim Potter receives the maximum sentence, she does, you know, have a future to hold and talk to her family in ways that they obviously can't with their son.

We may be hearing from Kim Potter herself in the minutes ahead here in her sentencing hearing. We will bring you that as it happens, but in the meantime, I want to thank our guests and we will take a quick break and continue to watch this sentencing hearing when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:40]

GOLODRYGA: A New York judge has ruled that former President Trump along with his children, Ivanka and Don Jr., must sit for depositions in the New York attorney general's civil investigation of the Trump Organization. It's a decision they're expected to appeal.

Joining me now to discuss is former U.S. attorney and former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman.

Harry, so everyone is expecting an appeal here from Donald Trump and his children, you point out that they can only appeal on the basis that they argued Thursday. Explain why, and what significance that may have.

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Right. You know, that's just a basic rule of the road, Bianna, for appellate issues. You've got to do something that you gave the trial court a chance to pass on and they didn't give very much. It was a very emphatic ruling and even kind of disparaged the arguments. There was one constitutional argument that was really out there. I don't even think we have to go into, and then their other argument was, hey, if you're trying to just use this testimony so you can leverage it in a criminal investigation. That happens all the time that there are parallel investigations and the answer that the law provides and it's been done again and again is so take the Fifth in the civil.

You can go into the civil deposition and say I take the fifth. It happens all the time. Of course, then, as his lawyer said, Trump's lawyer said, it will be all over the, you know, every paper in the country, sure, that's the way it goes. And then also, importantly, in a civil trial, you can get an adverse inference.

GOLODRYGA: Right.

LITMAN: That's lawyer speak for saying the jury can be instructed that you can conclude that what the thing that he avoided saying would have been bad for him. So that's a real cost but that's how the ball game goes in a civil proceeding which is what he's in.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. A real Catch 22. We have heard from legal experts that the judge in the civil case could actually stay the case as the criminal case moves forward. Do you see that happening?

LITMAN: I don't. First, he was asked to do that. We didn't know until 45 minutes in. I don't know if it was a change in strategy mid- hearing. The Trump folks asked where he specifically denied and it's the kind of thing that you really look to a trial court to do, and that would be. And defendants try it a lot. And that would, in fact, delay things, you know, a year or maybe even more with appeals.

I don't see it happening. A court of appeal here will get the -- they appeal the case, but I don't see a big delay. This is not like the shenanigans he was able to run in congressional settings. You know, maybe he gets another week, two, three out of it but I think he's really looking as are Ivanka and Don Jr., sitting down and raising their right hand and probably taking the Fifth, you know, hundreds of times the way Eric Trump did.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: Yes. He did about 500 times in January, but do you see that former President Trump would do the same, given that he's known to not always listen to legal counsel and perhaps even though against his best advice may continue to speak more than he should?

LITMAN: Right. Client from hell. But man, he's such a mess. I think what he'll do is something like take the Fifth, but posture and bluster after, well, it's not because I'm guilty but only because it's a witch hunt, blah, blah, blah. That would be my best guess, but if he goes down the road of actually talking, you know, it's like perjury or inculpate himself. What a disaster. That would be the biggest thing and the biggest disaster for the house of Trump in, you know, all these years.

So I think he probably, when the time comes and I think it's coming and not that long away, he'll take the Fifth and then, you know, make sort of bluff statements about it's all because she's biased.

GOLODRYGA: Well, I know you'll be with us all the way, covering this as it continues.

Harry Litman, thank you as always. Have a great weekend.

LITMAN: Thank you, Bianna. Have a good day.

GOLODRYGA: And thank you, everyone, at home for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto in Kyiv. "AT THIS HOUR" with Kate Bolduan starts right now.

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