Community reacts to Potter verdict

Community activists said the Kim Potter guilty verdict is a step in the right direction in the fight for justice at a Friday press conference.

Members of "Families supporting families against police violence," shared stories about their loved ones who were killed by law enforcement.

Activists said they were relieved Potter was held accountable for her actions, but they said countless other victims never got justice after being killed by police.

"You have your good days and sometimes you have those days you wish he was here and question why did this happen to our family?" Katie Bryant, Daunte Wright’s mom, said in a GMA interview.

Wright’s parents are doing their best to navigate life without their son.

The loss is an empty void they say a guilty verdict won’t fill.

"To be at a table without the person you love on Christmas is an immense pain and the Wright family had to do that for the first time this year," Courteney Ross, George Floyd’s fiancé, said.

It’s a level of pain Ross knows firsthand.

This will be the second holiday without her fiancé George Floyd.

"It doesn’t feel like justice when your loved one is gone, but we do need to hold people accountable on this earth," Ross said.

She said the guilty verdict held Potter accountable for her actions, which is an outcome she said aligned with Floyd’s case.

Ross was joined by a handful of other members of the organization who reflected on painful memories.

"We’ve been hunted yes for over 400 years. There’s always been a silent war on black people, but now it’s not silent anymore. It’s in your face," Valerie Castile, Philando Castile’s mother, said.

Valerie Castile remembers her son, Philando, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer in 2016 at a traffic stop.

The officer was charged with second-degree manslaughter but was later acquitted by a jury.

Castile said her son never got justice, but times are slowly changing.

"People are stepping up to the plate and we got families united standing in solidarity saying ‘no more," Castile said.

The group mentioned technology is a big reason why law enforcement is being held accountable because the public can see the incidents on video for themselves.

The organization said they’re planning to have a victory celebration for Daunte Wright next month.