Former New Jersey officer sentenced to 27 years in prison for fatally shooting driver, injuring passenger during 2019 pursuit

NEWARK, NJ (AP) — A former New Jersey police officer has been sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison for the shooting death of one man and the wounding of another during a high-speed car chase 5 and a half years ago. the city of Newark.

Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin, citing the need to deter police officers from what he calls a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality, sentenced former Newark officer Jovanny Crespo to 20 years on Friday. years in prison for aggravated manslaughter and seven years for aggravated assault. during the January 2019 lawsuit, NJ.com reported.

These sentences will be consecutive; The judge imposed six-year official misconduct sentences that will run concurrently with other sentences. NJ.com reported that Crespo, 31, slumped in his chair and family members cried when the judge told him he wouldn't be eligible for parole for 22 years and 11 months .

Earlier, Crespo cried as his mother and sister pleaded for leniency. He then stood up to briefly apologize to the victims' families.

Police dashboard and body camera video of the chase showed Crespo jumping from his patrol car and shooting three times during the pursuit. Essex County prosecutors said state guidelines allow deadly force only if the officer or someone else is in “imminent danger” of death or serious injury.

Defense attorney Isaac Wright Jr. had asked for leniency, telling the judge that Crespo had less than two years of experience and was poorly trained, and that his superiors should have quashed the January 2019 prosecution. Prosecutors said he trained at the police academy for more than six months and learned how to properly use deadly force.

Ravin agreed, calling the defendant “well trained” and saying the five-minute chase through Newark that ended in the death of the 46-year-old driver, Gregory Griffin, and left his passenger seriously injured , was “a heinous abuse of police power.”