Judge Dennis Porter -- stupid ruling releases Chicago cop
Chicago Detective Dante Servin fired into a dark alley crowded with civilians.Servin was off duty, according to media reports, and he was in his own personal car when he got in a shouting match with a group of people near his West Side home around 1 a.m. on March 21, 2012.
His lawyers asserted he opened fire because he thought one of the public, a man named Antonio Cross, had a gun and had pointed it at him.
The "Gun" turned out to be a cellphone. When Servin fired, his bullet hit 22 year old Rekia Boyd in the back of the head. She died two days later.
The case was brought to Judge Dennis Porter, who dismissed the charges, unbelievably claiming that the prosecutors had not charged Servin properly with a worse offense of First Degree Murder.
Servin was charged instead with the lesser crime of Involuntary Manslaughter. The entire episode is a tragedy and Judge Porter is responsible, failing to provide the kind of judicial leadership to protect the rights of citizens.
Servin is now free and the taxpayers of Chicago had to pay for Servin's crime, $4.5 million to Boyd's family.
The Chicago Tribune wrote recently: "The judge said prosecutors had shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Servin killed Boyd, and that he fired the shots knowing they were likely to cause great bodily harm or death. That adds up to first-degree murder, he said, unless the officer could show he acted in self-defense. But Servin didn't have to make that case, because he wasn't charged with first-degree murder. So he couldn't be found guilty of anything. Case closed."
That's amazing. It's a shameful reflection of Judge Porter, and on Chicago's police.
Servin should be fired.
And, so should Judge Porter.
