• Michigan cop shot 5 times tells off judge
    336 replies, posted
*This is a long read, but powerful. [I]Circuit judge handed down what the officer called an "insulting" and "lenient" sentence to the convicted 25-year-old gunman[/I] [quote]DETROIT — A highly decorated police officer who was shot five times last year delivered a harsh message Tuesday to a Wayne Circuit judge who handed down what the officer called an "insulting" and "lenient" sentence to the convicted 25-year-old gunman. Detroit Police Officer Arthur Matthews, 40, was shot the morning of May 6, 2011, while off-duty during a robbery attempt at a Marathon gas station on Michigan Avenue and 11th Street. [B]The shooter, Christopher Proctor, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, which each carry up to a life sentence. But Wayne Circuit Judge Ulysses Boykin on Tuesday sentenced Proctor to [I]14-25[/I] years in prison.[/B] Matthews, who still uses a cane as a result of his injuries from the shooting incident, stood up in the courtroom and called the judge's sentence "insulting." The patrolman, based in the department's northeastern district, was named last week by the Detroit Police Officers Association as one of several Officers of the Year. "There's a sea of emotions I've had since this happened," said Matthews, who has been on disability since the shooting. "The (sentence) has been whittled down to 14 years. I find that very insulting. That's kid gloves, not attempted murder. "This is the message you send to police officers when we try to do our jobs?" Matthews asked Boykin. "I don't expect any remorse from the defendant, but I did expect justice from this court." As Matthews spoke, Proctor slumped in his chair, hand on his chin. Once, when he tried to interrupt Matthews, bailiffs told him to be quiet. Boykin explained that he came to his sentencing decision after receiving "numerous letters from Mr. Proctor's family." [B]"While this is a heinous offense, and Officer Matthews has suffered an injury that will probably never heal ... we've got guidelines that are very lenient." After the hearing, Matthews scoffed at Boykin's statement. "The guidelines aren't lenient," the officer said. "The judge was lenient."[/B] [B]Under Michigan law: "Any person who shall assault another with intent to commit the crime of murder, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life or any number of years."[/B] After the hearing, Boykin declined to discuss his sentencing decision. Curt Benson, a professor at Cooley School of Law in Grand Rapids, said the 14-to-25-year sentence seemed "a bit low," although he said he would have to see what presentencing recommendations were made by the Michigan Department of Corrections in order to make an informed assessment. "Unfortunately, that's not a public document," Benson said. "So I'm not sure what the (sentencing) score was, but 14 years does seem on the low side." Proctor's mother, Shannon Proctor, said her son is "a wonderful person, a hard worker and a great father." "He's innocent, but he pleaded guilty because he knew nobody would take his word over a police officer," she said. Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Thomas Trzcinski said his office didn't cut a deal with Proctor, who also was charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the .45 automatic handgun he used to shoot Matthews was defaced, which is a federal offense. "There was no plea deal; (Proctor) just pleaded guilty to what we charged him with," Trzcinski said. The shooting incident happened after Matthews' sister returned his car, which she had borrowed. The officer pulled into the gas station and was refueling his car when Proctor approached him and demanded, "Give me all your (expletive)," Matthews said. "I see he's got a gun in his hand," said Matthews, recounting the shooting prior to the sentencing. "As he's walking toward me, he racks the gun. My first instinct was to shoot him, but he's got his gun out already and I can't. [B] "He puts his gun to my temple and tells me he wants my money. I'm thinking I'm going to try to throw the money between his legs and make him turn around; then I'll shoot him. But he gets nervous and says, 'Don't move. If you grab my gun I'll shoot you in the face.'"[/B] Matthews said he identified himself as a police officer. "I said, 'What are you doing? I'm the police.' But he started shooting. I knew I was hit but I felt no pain. I heard God's voice tell me, 'You won't be hurt.'" Although Matthews said Proctor had the gun aimed at his temple, he was able to wrest it lower, so when Proctor pulled the trigger, he shot the officer five times in the legs and side. His left femur was shattered. A sixth bullet struck Matthews' service pistol in its holster. [B]"I don't know if his gun jammed or if he ran out of bullets, but he stopped shooting. I told him 'You just shot the police.' Then I punched him in his face. He starts yelling, and trying to regain control of the gun. Then he tried to run away. I don't know if he was going to shoot me again, so I pulled out my gun and shot him three times."[/B] [B]While that gunfight raged, Matthews said he believes friends of Proctor opened fire on the officer. "I was hiding behind a street pole," Matthews said.[/B] Matthews said he received death threats, and that police put a detail outside his east-side home for several weeks. "I just can't figure how someone who tries to kill a police officer can be walking the streets in a few years," he said. [B]"This is our criminal justice system.[/B]"[/quote] [url=http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/5495836-Mich-cop-shot-5-times-tells-off-judge/]Source[/url] --
[quote]"I don't know if his gun jammed or if he ran out of bullets, but he stopped shooting. I told him 'You just shot the police.' Then I punched him in his face. He starts yelling, and trying to regain control of the gun. Then he tried to run away. I don't know if he was going to shoot me again, so I pulled out my gun and shot him three times."[/quote] You are one tough cookie, sir.
[quote] "I don't know if his gun jammed or if he ran out of bullets, but he stopped shooting. I told him 'You just shot the police.' Then I punched him in his face. He starts yelling, and trying to regain control of the gun. Then he tried to run away. I don't know if he was going to shoot me again, so I pulled out my gun and shot him three times."[/quote] Its amazing what shock and adrenaline will do.
The guy assaults an officer with a weapon, destroys the cop's leg, claims to be guilty, and still gets only 14-25? That[I] IS[/I] a short time for something that could've lead to murder, especially of a police officer.
14-25 years sounds decent at best until you realize that it's the combined sentence for both those charges. Real smooth.
Frankly, still not as bad as the people who are murdered by police and the police get paid leave for it. I mean, it's 14 fucking years. For not killing a man, I think that sounds pretty fair. [editline]2nd May 2012[/editline] I think in my state attempted murder only carries a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, so he got longer than he would have got in my state.
we shouldn't be locking these people up for punishment, we should be locking them up for rehab yeah what the kid did was pretty godawful, and i can sympathize with the officer, especially since he was permanently injured, but wanting a longer sentence out of some kind of need for revenge just shouldn't be part of society today
[QUOTE=yawmwen;35798599]Frankly, still not as bad as the people who are murdered by police and the police get paid leave for it. I mean, it's 14 fucking years. For not killing a man, I think that sounds pretty fair. [editline]2nd May 2012[/editline] I think in my state attempted murder only carries a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, so he got longer than he would have got in my state.[/QUOTE] fuk da police1!!1!
[QUOTE=yawmwen;35798599]Frankly, still not as bad as the people who are murdered by police and the police get paid leave for it. [/QUOTE] Are you fucking kidding me? Have you ever read a state [url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.066]statute[/url] before? Police do not murder people. They protect themselves and others from being murdered. PS: They get paid leave because its their job to protect. And, they still have to be cleared of criminal charges
Holy shit I thought Detroit being such a shithole was an over-exaggeration, but now I see someone who attempts to kill a police officer, then threatens him multiple times in afterward, is getting a light sentence for it...
[QUOTE=yawmwen;35798599]Frankly, still not as bad as the people who are murdered by police and the police get paid leave for it. I mean, it's 14 fucking years. For not killing a man, I think that sounds pretty fair. [editline]2nd May 2012[/editline] I think in my state attempted murder only carries a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, so he got longer than he would have got in my state.[/QUOTE] I honestly think attempted murder should carry the same penalties of murder. Regardless of whether you killed someone or not, you still tried. That is every bit as bad.
[QUOTE=Mon;35798651]we shouldn't be locking these people up for punishment, we should be locking them up for rehab yeah what the kid did was pretty godawful, and i can sympathize with the officer, especially since he was permanently injured, but wanting a longer sentence out of some kind of need for revenge just shouldn't be part of society today[/QUOTE] Here in the US it's all about punishment. Can't see that changing any time soon
14 years [I]minimum[/I] is not lenient. Somebody's got a grudge.
Also. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny4a-oxOndo[/media]
[quote]Proctor's mother, Shannon Proctor, said her son is "a wonderful person, a hard worker and a great father."[/quote] Bitch
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798733]14 years [I]minimum[/I] is not lenient. Somebody's got a grudge.[/QUOTE] That's extremely fucking lenient, and personally there is something probably wrong with you if you don't have at least a bit of a grudge against the person who just permanently damaged your body.
[QUOTE=Jetblack357;35798740]That's extremely fucking lenient.[/QUOTE] Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.
[quote]"I don't know if his gun jammed or if he ran out of bullets, but he stopped shooting. I told him 'You just shot the police.' Then I punched him in his face. He starts yelling, and trying to regain control of the gun. Then he tried to run away. I don't know if he was going to shoot me again, so I pulled out my gun and shot him three times."[/quote] [i]"Rage is one hell of an anesthetic"[/i] [img]http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/8/8d/Zaeed_Character_Box.png[/img] But seriously, 14-25 despite pleading guilty to all that shit? That's just insulting.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798733]14 years [I]minimum[/I] is not lenient. Somebody's got a grudge.[/QUOTE] Considering he shot a cop 5 times in an obvious attempt to kill him, coupled with the failed robbery attempt and possession of an illegal weapon, I'd say it's pretty damn lenient.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] He shot someone [b]5 fucking times[/b] with intent to kill, getting 14 years minimum for that is disgusting. With 5 bullets getting put in you it's a fucking miracle you're still alive. And that's not even counting the attempted robbery. I'm interested in knowing what was in the letters that caused the judge to be so lenient.
[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;35798801]He shot someone [b]5 fucking times[/b] with intent to kill, getting 14 years minimum for that is disgusting. With 5 bullets getting put in you it's a fucking miracle you're still alive.[/QUOTE] And yet he is. We do not sentence people for what MIGHT have happened. We sentence people for what DID happen. And what happened is a man was injured, survived, and the assailant plead guilty on all charges. The cop (and the internet, evidently) is just being his typical vindictive-cop self, in complete defiance to how we handle cases once the cuffs come off and the judge comes in.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] Dude, for someone who obviously has intent to kill a police officer, he should be looking at 30 years. minimum. [editline]2nd May 2012[/editline] I would be happy with life, but thats just not going to happen.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] But if this guy did murder the cop. Then his sentence would be lots larger and you would agree with it. This makes no sense [B]at all.[/B] You all claim that prison is to rehab a person, please tell me the difference of a person that tries to kill someone and succeeds, and someone that fails. There is none.
[QUOTE=Mon;35798651]we shouldn't be locking these people up for punishment, we should be locking them up for rehab yeah what the kid did was pretty godawful, and i can sympathize with the officer, especially since he was permanently injured, but wanting a longer sentence out of some kind of need for revenge just shouldn't be part of society today[/QUOTE] The law is in place and everyone is well aware that attempting to murder someone is against it, giving people a million chances to try again in society doesn't help, if they are messed up enough to hold a gun to someone's head and to then use it they ought to be kept clear of the public for good. You see celebrities going to the best Rehab centres money can buy and still not dropping their bad habits etc. what good would a state run program do? If you intend to murder someone then you should be given a life sentence regardless of whether you achieved your aim, just because the officer was tough as fuck doesn't mean the punishment should be any less, the guy would have happily killed the officer there and then. [QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't be surprised if he was considered for release well before then. Not only that but the guy was shot three times himself, he was clearly caught and taken away, how could he possibly deny the charges? Pleading guilty was his best option because of the reduction in sentence anyway, he shouldn't be rewarded in the slightest. "Just a cop with a grudge", no it's a severe case of injustice.
You folks can disagree all you want. The man plead guilty on all charges. That is nothing to scoff at. You're all being vindictive, and it is not in the judge's purview to be vindictive.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] Shooting an officer five fucking times, resulting in a permanent injury is only worth 14 years minimum and 25 years maximum. I would say that's pretty far from lenient. Especially when it's the combination of two charges of what amounts to attempted murder.
[QUOTE=Jetblack357;35798856]But if this guy did murder the cop. Then his sentence would be lots larger and you would agree with it.[/QUOTE] Irrelevant. The cop didn't die.
[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;35798801]He shot someone [b]5 fucking times[/b] with intent to kill,[/QUOTE] Not related but I'm beginning to wonder what sort of arguments one might make if he shot someone 5 times without intent to kill.
[QUOTE=Kinversulath;35798876]Shooting an officer five fucking times, resulting in a permanent injury is only worth 14 years minimum and 25 years maximum. I would say that's pretty far from lenient. Especially when it's the combination of two charges of what amounts to attempted murder.[/QUOTE] Pleading guilty on all fucking charges earns a certain degree of respect from the justice system.
[QUOTE=Lankist;35798777]Uhm no it isn't. Not for a crime in which one person was injured and no one died. It's not lenient at all. It's the [I]minimum[/I] term. That doesn't mean he will be released on the 14-year mark. It's 14-25 years. That means the system won't even [I]consider[/I] the convict for 14 years. And only [I]after[/I] 14 years will they ever bother to even glance at his case file again. The man plead guilty. We reward those who plead guilty and expedite the process by giving them lower minimum sentences than usual. If we did not, then everyone would plead not guilty, and every case would drag on for years. This is just a cop with a grudge, to which I have absolutely no sympathy for considering how dangerous a cop with a grudge has historically been.[/QUOTE] You have no sympathy for him because he is pissed that some guy attempted to murder him and in the process crippled his leg?
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