PHILADELPHIA, PA – A Philadelphia police officer who was convicted last month for killing an unarmed black man is going to prison for at least four and a half years.
Former Philadelphia Police Officer Eric Ruch shot and killed Dennis Plowden on December 27, 2017. Investigators determined Plowden, who was unarmed, was shot through his raised left hand. The bulleted exited his hand and struck him in the head, killing him while he was sitting on a side walk.
Investigators said Plowden was unarmed, surrendering to police and complying with the officer at the time of the shooting.
Ruch was suspended with the intent to dismiss on June 12, 2018 or violating police department policy for discharging, using, displaying, and handling a firearm.
He was charged two years later and convicted in September of voluntary manslaughter.
“When the minimum sentence of incarceration is 54 months, Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission recommendations allow judges to sentence defendants up to 12 months lower than the minimum. According to these guidelines, a fully mitigated recommended sentence for Eric Ruch would be a minimum 42-month sentence.
