5 Female Cops Realizing They Will Go To Jail

https://youtu.be/cqbP6KchFsM  0:32 – 0:41

https://youtu.be/Mh7WHg_KX84  1:27 – 1:33

https://youtu.be/s_CgPAzxF0g  5:35 – 5:38

1 Amber Guyger

Amber Guyger, a white female police officer, tragically entered Botham Jean’s apartment under the mistaken belief that he was a burglar and, in a tragic twist of events, fatally shot him. This case garnered immense attention and shone a spotlight on concerns about police use of force and racial bias.

During the courtroom proceedings, Guyger’s mother revealed that her daughter had experienced significant trauma at a young age. She also expressed that Guyger was deeply remorseful for her actions.

The prosecution put forth evidence drawn from Guyger’s police records and social media messages, aiming to argue against a lenient sentence. Some of the texts and posts highlighted a troubling attitude, making references to violence.

Guyger’s defense, in contrast, emphasized her contributions as a police officer and argued that the shooting was an unintended, tragic mistake rather than a deliberate act.

https://youtu.be/Mh7WHg_KX84  1:27 – 1:33

The trial commenced on September 23, with the jury primarily composed of women and individuals of diverse racial backgrounds. After about five hours of deliberation, they reached a verdict of guilty.

https://youtu.be/Mh7WHg_KX84  0:21 – 0:27

Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murdering her unarmed neighbor, Botham Jean, inside his apartment, has now been sentenced to 10 years in prison. This decision followed an emotionally charged hearing, where members of Jean’s family testified, and evidence of Guyger’s racist and offensive texts and social media posts was presented.

https://youtu.be/Mh7WHg_KX84  0:09 – 0:17

Prosecutors had requested a minimum sentence of 28 years, symbolically aligned with the age Botham Jean would have turned recently. During the hearing, Brandt Jean, Botham’s brother, stunned the courtroom by offering forgiveness to Guyger and even embracing her. He extended his pardon and wished the best for her, reflecting his belief that it was what his late brother would have desired.

https://youtu.be/Mh7WHg_KX84  0:49 – 0:51

2 Francine Martinez

https://youtu.be/QKl4fZ7Ywfw  1:26 – 1:29

Meet Francine Martinez, a former police officer who was found guilty of failing to intervene when her partner employed excessive force during a 2021 arrest and has received a six-month jail sentence, to be served under house arrest. The sentencing of Francine Martinez, convicted in April, marks a significant legal precedent as it was the first trial of its kind, following Colorado’s 2020 police reform bill, which made it a misdemeanor to fail to intervene in such situations.

The case stems from a July 2021 incident where Martinez and her fellow officer, John Haubert, responded to a trespassing call in the 3100 block of South Parker Road. During the arrest, Haubert’s use of force escalated dramatically. He placed the barrel of his pistol against the head of the detained individual, Kyle Vinson, striking him with it repeatedly and subsequently strangling him for almost 39 seconds. In a body camera recording, Haubert can be heard threatening Vinson with a firearm if he moved.

Judge Cheryl Rowles-Stokes sentenced Francine Martinez to six months of house arrest on June 2, coupled with a requirement to pay $500 in restitution. This decision marked a moment of emotional intensity, with Martinez visibly moved by the verdict.

Martinez’s defense counsel, David Goddard, is considering whether to file an appeal, and consequently, advised her not to address the court during the sentencing. Several letters of support from her friends and colleagues were submitted to the judge ahead of the hearing.

https://youtu.be/QKl4fZ7Ywfw  1:13 – 1:19

Notably, Vinson and his attorneys were not present during the sentencing.

https://youtu.be/QKl4fZ7Ywfw  1:26 – 1:32

Prosecutors had requested a minimum sentence of 28 years in a symbolic nod to Botham Jean’s recent birthday milestone. However, during the hearing, Brandt Jean, Botham’s brother, extended forgiveness to Guyger and even embraced her, expressing his belief that it aligned with his late brother’s wishes. This act of forgiveness drew considerable attention during the proceedings.

The sentencing options for the misdemeanor offense ranged from probation to six to 18 months in jail. Despite a request for probation, Judge Rowles-Stokes did not consider it a suitable option for Martinez, as it is intended primarily for rehabilitation purposes, which she believed did not apply in this case.

The sentencing also raised questions about the potential loss of Martinez’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification. While Goddard contended that this would be at the discretion of the POST board, it remained uncertain whether it would constitute a condition of probation.

In her remarks, Judge Rowles-Stokes highlighted the clear example of excessive force in this case. She criticized Martinez for not drawing upon her EMT training, which she held before becoming a police officer, during the arrest. She emphasized that such a failure to act should not be excused, even when critiquing colleagues can be challenging in many professions, including law enforcement.

The judge made it explicit that any violation of the terms of Martinez’s house arrest would result in serving the remainder of the sentence in the Arapahoe County Jail.

3 Kim Potter

https://youtu.be/kT5pfAKayJs  0:08 – 0:15

This is Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer, who has been sentenced to 24 months in prison and a $1,000 fine for her involvement in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop. 

The incident occurred when Potter pulled Daunte Wright over for an expired registration tag on his vehicle. After discovering an outstanding warrant for a gross misdemeanor weapons charge, she attempted to detain him. As Wright tried to free himself and get back into his car, Potter mistakenly grabbed her firearm instead of her stun gun and shot him.

Potter will serve 16 months in prison and the remaining eight months on supervised release, a sentence considerably less severe than what the prosecution had sought. Judge Regina Chu acknowledged that this sentence represented a “significant downward departure” from sentencing guidelines.

https://youtu.be/s_CgPAzxF0g  1:45 – 2:02

The Judge emphasized that the reduced sentence doesn’t diminish the value of Daunte Wright’s life.

Kim Potter received “hundreds” of letters in support, all of which Judge Chu noted she had read. Potter was also ordered to pay a $78 surcharge, and she has already served 58 days in jail while awaiting sentencing.

https://youtu.be/V2mCdSKuwUI  5:35 – 6:15

Potter broke down in tears and offered an apology during her trial, saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt anybody.” The jury deliberated for approximately four days before delivering a verdict on December 23.

The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years with a $30,000 fine, and for second-degree manslaughter, it’s 10 years with a $20,000 fine.

After the sentencing, Daunte Wright’s father, Arbuey Wright, expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the sentence, describing it as a “slap on the wrist.” He lamented the ongoing emotional toll his family endures, waiting for their son to return.

Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Wright family, criticized the judge’s comments during the sentencing, stating that they showed a lack of compassion for the victim and were devastating to the family. Crump said that the family was stunned by Potter’s sentence, feeling that greater accountability was needed.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison accepted the judge’s decision and urged everyone to respect her judgment, emphasizing that no number of years in prison could ever capture the essence of Daunte Wright’s life.

Katie Ann Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother, delivered a poignant impact statement before the sentencing, asking for the maximum sentence. She expressed her inability to forgive Potter for what she had taken from their family. Katie Ann Wright conveyed the profound impact of her son’s loss on their lives, describing how Potter’s actions left them in darkness and heartache.

Daunte Wright’s sister, Diamond Wright, also addressed the court, sharing the profound difficulty of dealing with the loss of her brother. She, too, implored the judge for the maximum sentence, highlighting that this was no accident but a clear case of excessive force.

During her statement, Katie Ann Wright emphasized that Potter never once referred to her son by name but only as “the driver,” which she saw as dehumanizing. She pledged to continue saying her son’s name until being Black no longer carries a risk of death.

In response, Kim Potter tearfully apologized to the Wright family and expressed remorse for the pain she had caused them. She acknowledged her failure to look at them as they had called her out for it. Potter emphasized how deeply sorry she was for the harm she had inflicted.

The jury had convicted Kim Potter, 49, of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021, incident. She had pleaded not guilty to both charges.

4 Ashley McArthur

https://youtu.be/MSu-H24Qa34  4:17- 4:22

Ashley McArthur, a former crime scene technician from Pensacola, Florida, became an inmate after her arrest on October 9, 2017, in connection with the homicide of her late friend, Taylor Wright. At the time of the murder, McArthur and Wright were believed to be best friends. Wright was in the midst of a divorce from her husband, Jeff Wright, and had withdrawn $34,000 from their joint account to entrust Ashley with, but the money went missing, leading to a dispute.

Their last meeting occurred on September 8, 2017, and it was the final time Taylor was seen alive. Ashley was later found guilty of premeditated first-degree murder on October 30, 2019, and she was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing private investigator and former police officer Taylor Wright over the missing $34,000.

McArthur appealed her conviction, seeking a new trial due to the jury inadvertently seeing a photo of her pointing a shotgun. She also argued that the trial court erroneously admitted statements she made to law enforcement, specific cell phone records, and the victim’s text messages.

https://youtu.be/MUcaNZEbmuk?list=PLoW1SIeAWaWaRIqKgjvSaw-TUR2nadW4w 2:20 – 2:50

Wright went missing on September 8, 2017, and McArthur became a suspect after investigations revealed that she was the last known person to be with the victim that day. McArthur’s bank records also indicated that she deposited a $34,000 cashier’s check made out to the victim into her own account and spent the money.

On October 19, 2017, investigators called McArthur to the Pensacola Police station to return her cell phone. After being advised of her Miranda rights, she answered questions related to the ongoing missing-person investigation. McArthur admitted depositing the cashier’s check into an account in her and the victim’s name and was questioned about cell tower records that conflicted with her alibi.

Following the interview, the victim’s remains were discovered beneath concrete and potting soil on a farm owned by McArthur’s aunt in Cantonment, near Muscogee Road. McArthur was subsequently charged with first-degree premeditated murder. She sought to suppress her statements to investigators and cell phone records but was denied by the trial court.

https://youtu.be/MSu-H24Qa34  11:22 – 12:10

During the trial, a photo inadvertently showed McArthur in hunting gear aiming a shotgun, though not the murder weapon. McArthur moved for a mistrial, but it was denied. She was found guilty as charged. In her appeal, she argued that the trial court should have declared a mistrial over the photo.

The appeals court determined that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the mistrial request, as the photo’s brief display did not significantly prejudice the trial. They also ruled that all of McArthur’s statements made after her cell phone was returned followed the reading of her Miranda rights.

The appeals court further found that the victim’s text messages and statements were not hearsay but were relevant to establishing a timeline, motive, and intent in the case.