Officer Shot 5 Times Calls Sentence 'Insulting'
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Detroit police officer who was shot five times last year offered a rebuke in court to a judge who sentenced the gunman to 14-25 years in prison.
Officer Arthur Matthews stood up during Tuesday's sentencing hearing in Detroit and called Wayne County Circuit Judge Ulysses Boykin's sentence "insulting," according to a report by The Detroit News.
Forty-year-old Matthews was wounded last May while off-duty during a robbery attempt at a gas station on Michigan Avenue and 11th Street.
"There's a sea of emotions I've had since this happened. The (sentence) has been whittled down to 14 years. I find that very insulting. That's kid gloves, not attempted murder," said Matthews, who has been on disability since the shooting.
Twenty-five-year-old Christopher Proctor pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, punishable by up to life in prison.
Boykin described sentencing guidelines that help dictate the actual time in prison as "very lenient." The judge also says he received "numerous" letters from Proctor's family.
"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."
Matthews, an 18 year veteran of the force who still uses a cane as a result of his injuries, was named last week by the Detroit Police Officers Association as one of its Officers of the Year.
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