Alayna Albrecht-Payton files lawsuit over fatal Daunte Wright shooting

Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty

Watching someone die a natural, peaceful death can be traumatizing enough. Watching someone you’re sitting right next to be gunned down by a cop is the stuff of nightmares. 21-year-old Alayna Albrecht-Payton was injured both mentally and physically when then-officer Kim Potter “accidentally” grabbed her firearm instead of her taser and killed Daunte Wright. She has had to pay a price for the state’s violent incompetence and now the state will have a price to pay as well.

Daunte Wright’s Passenger Girlfriend Files Lawsuit Against City And Killer Cop

According to the Star-Tribune, Albrecht-Payton is seeking at least $150,000 in damages from the city of Brooklyn Center and Kim Potter personally related to the fatal events of April 11, 2021. When Daunte was shot, the car he was driving eventually crashed into another SUV and left Alayna with a broken jaw and lacerations.

“Albrecht-Payton was a blameless witness to a horribly traumatic event, which a lot of people heard her testify to in the felony trial. And she has suffered some significant and permanent injuries, including the broken jaw and the cuts, and just scared inside and out from this event,” her attorney Kathryn Bennett said in a phone interview Monday.

Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty

Despite her injuries, Alayna did her best to render aid to Daunte while Potter was promoting a pity party for herself after realizing that she was going to prison. The lawsuit made this clear in no uncertain terms.

“Potter worried only about the consequences to herself. She walked over to the curb, sat down and started wailing. She drew her fellow officers’ attention to herself and away from responding to the crisis she created. Officer [Anthony] Luckey patted her back as she lay face down on the grass, expressing her concern that she was ‘going to prison.’ “

As far as we’re concerned, $150,000 isn’t nearly enough. We’ll be keeping an eye out for how this lawsuit is settled.