Today, I would like to post the response made by SBA President Edward Mullins in the wake of the verdict in the Police Officer Peter Figoski Trial.
The man convicted of killing Police Officer Peter Figoski, Lamont Pride, was acquitted of murder in the first degree, but was convicted of the lessor charge of Murder second degree and other charges, including burglary and aggravated manslaughter. Many in the law enforcemnet community are disappointed and angered by the verdict because a conviction on the more-serious charge would have carried a mandatory life sentence.
This is a fact. Lamont Pride, shot Officer Peter Figoski in the face as he fled the scene of a robbery in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, in December 2011.
For those not familiar with the case the basic story is that Officer Figoski and his partner, Officer Glenn Estrada, had answered a call for assistance at a robbery at 25 Pine Street in Cypress Hills, near the Queens border. They found a victim who was beaten and bloodied in the basement apartment and tended to him, not knowing that Mr. Pride and one of his associates were hiding in the basement’s shadows. Mr. Pride burst into view and, during a quick confrontation with Officer Figoski, shot the officer in the face.
For whatever reason the jury somehow believed that Lamont Pride did not intentionally kill the Police Officer Figoski. This jury must have believed that he did it by accident. I see he was hiding in the basement with a cocked gun. He accidentally shot the officer in the face gun when he voluntarily came out to help the officer. Then he ran away. I diverge, sorry. Let me get back on point.
I find this troubling to say the least. I did not attend the trial and was not a member of the jury, but can honestly say something is wrong with this picture. So without debating the merits of the case, evidence, jury make-up, inherent hatred of police officers by some in minority communities or many other societal problems that tend to lead unexplainable jury verdicts I will simply post SBA President Ed Mullins response to the verdict.
His response and the thoughts from Sergeant Jeanne Woods sums up how many in the law enforcement community feel about this verdict.
Response from Ed Mullins on the Peter Figoski Trial Verdict
The verdict in the Peter Figoski trial is truly disappointing to all members of the NYPD and the entire law enforcement community. I believe the following statement by Sergeant Jean Woods simply clarifies all that we are in law enforcement, and, sadly, all the people we serve have lost. Please read the statement below.
Thank you, Sergeant Woods, for sharing your thoughts.
FOR YOU
Sgt. Jeanne Woods
We give up Christmas mornings with our kids for you. We stand out in the freezing rain directing traffic so you can get home. We deliver your babies for you. We stand sentry on cold lonely nights so you remain safe. We chase perps across rooftops and down long city blocks for you. We find your lost children, pull you out of wrecked cars, and investigate those open doors for you.
We find the people that hurt you. We get hurt, ourselves, defending you. We stand and tell your families when you won’t be coming home. We mourn your dead with you. We jump into cold frigid waters to save you, guard your shattered homes after storms as our own are destroyed too, and ring in every New Year with you.
We spend sleepless nights investigating crimes for you. We shed tears at the atrocities of man against you. We help old ladies across the street. We take guns away from bad guys for you. We protect your children at school. We deal with your crazy neighbors for you.
We watch, ever vigilant, to protect this city from another attack against us, against you.
We are often scorned, constantly criticized, and frequently hated. We suffer bad parodies and donut jokes, second guessing and ignorance. But we soldier on, and enforce the law because we believe in doing what’s right. For the city, for you.
We would take a bullet for you. We DO take bullets for you.
We sometimes die for you.
And when we do, we stand in a long blue line, and mourn for our brother, for ourselves, for a violation of the deepest sort. Killing the protectors kills part of America, as that old poem goes. Killing me is one thing. Killing me as I am trying to keep you safe is another thing entirely, and is the very reason that the charge of Murder 1 exists.
We are the first line of defense, but we need support. So when we catch the one that broke all rules of humanity, and we turn him over to the legal system that we worked so hard to maintain, we trust that the prosecutors will follow through. We trust that 12 other people will follow through. We trust that the public will understand why murdering a Police Officer is an atrocity against humankind, and serve justice according to the letter of the law.
We would do it for you.
PO Peter Figoski would have done it for you, DID do it for you, but that jury in Brooklyn didn’t serve him the way he served them for 22 years. Peter Figoski was murdered by Lamont Pride, and let down by those 12 jurors, leaving the rest of us to carry his memory, for his daughters, for the city, for you.