Kim Potter was set to help lead use-of-force training in Washington state. Then it was canceled.

Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer who served 16 months in prison for manslaughter in the 2021 death of Daunte Wright, was initially set to help train enforcement officers for the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board next week.

The training would have been led by both Potter and Imran Ali, the former Washington County prosecutor who stepped down from prosecuting Potter’s case, Ali said Saturday.

But the board canceled its “Remorse to Redemption: Lessons Learned” training after the Seattle Times called to ask about it, the newspaper reported Saturday. The board reportedly took its action out of respect for the Wright family.

Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, could not be reached for comment Saturday, but told the Times she was upset with the idea of Potter “having that spotlight.” A spokesperson from the Liquor and Cannabis Board did not respond Saturday to a request for comment.

But Ali, now senior director of training, consulting and investigation services at the Twin Cities law firm Eckberg Lammers, confirmed that the board notified him via email the contract was canceled. Board leaders did not give a reason or address any concerns with him beforehand, he said.

“I knew it’d be controversial. I understand that aspect of it,” Ali said. But he said he saw Potter’s involvement as a way to have other officers learn from her mistakes.

“I think that if we continue to silence thoughtful discussion, if we continue to silence training, we’re going to continue to make the same mistakes,” he said. “It was apparent to me that what she wanted to do, was to do whatever she could do to effectuate change.”

Ali stepped down from Potter’s case and resigned his position with the Washington County Attorney’s Office after receiving “vitriol” infused with “partisan politics,” he said, from activists demanding justice for Wright.