Officer convicted of manslaughter in Black motorist’s death
Associated PressPHILADELPHIA — A white Philadelphia police officer was convicted Wednesday of voluntary manslaughter and a weapons charge in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black motorist shot six seconds after the officer arrived on the scene. Officer Eric Ruch Jr. told jurors he feared for his life when he fired at Dennis Plowden Jr. as the 25-year-old sat on a sidewalk after crashing a car during a high-speed chase. Mischak noted that the jury did not believe that Ruch had murdered Plowden, even though “the prosecution has vigorously pursued a murder conviction” since his client’s indictment. Krasner had little comment after the verdict, thanking jurors for what he called their “noble and demanding” public service, but said he expected to say more at Ruch’s sentencing. “To call my client a criminal really compounds that tragedy.” In a key pretrial ruling, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Barbara McDermott barred prosecutors from telling jurors about a series of complaints filed against Ruch during his 10-year police career because he was mostly cleared of wrongdoing by internal affairs.
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