XPost: alt.fan.states.indiana, alt.politics.liberalism, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: abe.lincoln.was@a.fool   
      
   Pay attention people.  Democrats care more about dead dogs than they do   
   people.   
      
   CROWN POINT — A Gary police officer whose K-9 partner was shot and killed   
   last year called the man responsible a "coward" during his sentencing   
   hearing Friday, which occurred one day before the one-year anniversary of   
   the pup's death.   
      
   "Tomorrow, July 13, marks one year of Falco's needless murder," Sgt. Angel   
   Lozano said in court. "He murdered an innocent soul for doing his job. And   
   he did his job well."   
      
   Spencer Patterson, 30, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in the   
   Department of Correction for the shooting of K-9 Falco, attempted battery by   
   a deadly weapon for shooting at Lozano and resisting law enforcement while   
   armed. He will serve this sentence consecutive to a four-year sentence in   
   another case in which he pleaded guilty to shooting at a man while they   
   drove in separate cars for a total of 12 ½ years incarcerated.   
      
   As Lozano reflected on his time with his beloved police K-9, law enforcement   
   from various agencies around the Region packed the courtroom in support of   
   Lozano. Lozano thanked everyone who supported him and his family throughout   
   the ordeal.   
      
   "Falco gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect me," Lozano said, "because   
   that is what he was trained to do."   
      
   A jury found Patterson guilty on the three criminal charges related to the   
   shooting after a trial in early June. He was found not guilty on a charge of   
   attempted murder, which could have significantly increased his sentence had   
   he been found guilty.   
      
   Lozano tried to arrest Patterson while on shift after he received   
   information that Patterson's car was in an area nearby and he had a warrant   
   out for his arrest. Patterson fled the scene on foot, so Lozano and K-9   
   Falco chased him down.   
      
   The dog bit Patterson, so he fired multiple fatal shots at the dog. He then   
   shot at Lozano, who returned fire.   
      
   Patterson's mother, Yolanda, made an impassioned plea to Lake Criminal Court   
   Judge Salvador Vasquez for a lesser sentence. She said she believes her   
   son's children would suffer "tremendously" if their father received a   
   lengthy sentence.   
      
   "Spencer is not a bad kid," she said.   
      
   Patterson's defense attorney John Cantrell argued for a shorter sentence   
   with placement in a work release program because of Patterson's minimal   
   criminal history. He has no felony convictions, which can often aggravate a   
   potential sentence.   
      
   The charges on which he was convicted are low-level felonies, which Cantrell   
   said often result in probationary or work release sentences for defendants.   
      
   "He doesn't deserve to go to prison," Cantrell said. "He deserve an   
   alternate sentence."   
      
   Like his mother said, Patterson has young children for whom he provides and   
   has a close relationship. He has a college degree and two professional   
   certifications, Cantrell said, and was working prior to the incident and   
   while out on bond.   
      
   Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said Patterson's   
   "merciless" acts deserved an aggravated sentence because K-9s are regarded   
   as officers by departments based on the caliber of work they do. She alleged   
   Patterson felt no remorse for the situation, which warranted even more   
   prison time.   
      
   "What we have here is an individual who refuses to take responsibility for   
   what he did," Jatkiewicz said.   
      
   Patterson, however, said at the hearing that he does understand how heinous   
   his acts were and is prepared to face the consequences. He looked directly   
   at Lozano as he spoke.   
      
   "What I did to your partner ... can not be fixed with an apology," Patterson   
   said.   
      
   Vasquez said while he would give weight to the fact that Patterson was   
   educated and had minimal criminal contact, it would be an error to give   
   "overriding weight" to that because of the facts of the case.   
      
   "This K-9 was acting within his duty obligations at the direction of Sgt.   
   Lozano," Vasquez said.   
      
   Gary police Chief Derrick Cannon said Falco's loss has been felt by the   
   department as a whole. He contributed "significantly" to the work of Gary   
   police, from sniffing drugs out of vehicles to locating people during search   
   and rescue situations.   
      
   "I am grateful to the prosecutor's office for their persistent pursuits of   
   attempting to find justice," Cannon said. "For not only Sgt. Lozano and his   
   K-9 partner, but for the City of Gary."   
      
   Patterson was ordered to pay $11,000 in restitution to the City of Gary for   
   Falco's loss.   
      
   "This is not something that will end how we feel about things just because   
   there was a sentencing given," Cannon said.   
      
   https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/gary-man-who-killed-   
   police-dog-receives-8-and-a-half-year-prison-sentence-4-years-in-road-   
   shooting-crime-courts-spencer-patterson/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)