l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Shocker: Killer of NYPD Officer is Career Criminal, Mostly for ‘Non-
Violent’ Drug Offenses
Imagine our surprise.
The man suspected of shooting a New York City police officer in the head
and killing him on Tuesday night had been on the run from the police for
weeks, accused of dropping out of a court-mandated drug treatment program
and playing a role in a recent shooting, according to police officials.
Last fall, the man, Tyrone Howard, was arrested along with 18 other
members of a drug crew that had spread violence through a stretch of public
housing along the East River and was ordered into a drug diversion program,
which is meant to keep some drug offenders from further crowding already
overcrowded jails.
In May, he stopped taking part in the program, the officials said.
Months later, the police said, he was believed to have been involved in
a shooting, the details of which the authorities did not immediately provide.
But officers had been looking for him; they had been to his house and
talked to his associates.
“He clearly knew that they were on his trail. They’ve made numerous
attempts to grab him,” Stephen P. Davis, the department’s deputy
commissioner for public information, said. “He’s considered a very major
drug dealer in the East River Houses.”
Perhaps if this career criminal had been dealt with harshly Officer Holder
would be alive today.
Mr. Howard has an extensive history of arrests, primarily for narcotics
sales. He has served two terms in New York State prison for drug sales, with
his most recent release coming in April 2014.
Mr. Howard was one of 19 defendants charged with selling narcotics — in
most cases, crack cocaine — to undercover officers.
You know who’s big on commuting sentences and pardoning “non-violent”
drug offenders?
Barack Obama.
President Obama on Monday commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders,
more than double the number of commutations he granted earlier this year, as
part of his effort to reform the criminal justice system.
In a Facebook video posted Monday, the president said the 46 prisoners
had served sentences disproportionate to their crimes.
“These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming
majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years,” he said. “I believe
that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances. And I believe
these folks deserve their second chance.” He noted that in his letters to
them, he urged that they make different choices now that their sentences had
been commuted.
Today’s news comes as police commissioners today call for reducing the
number of criminal laws and mandatory minimum sentences.
Asserting that “too many people are behind bars that don’t belong
there,” the officials plan to announce on Wednesday that they have formed a
group to push for alternatives to arrests, reducing the number of criminal
laws and ending mandatory minimum prison sentences. Members of the group are
scheduled to meet Thursday with President Obama.
Great timing, guys. |
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