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No jail time for cop who punched an Uber driver and screamed racial epithets at him

Michael Doherty, the Boston cop convicted of attacking an Uber driver and taking his car for a spin while off duty, was sentenced today to three years probation by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Prosecutors had argued for a six-month stay in the Suffolk County jail, followed by five years of probation - with a possible two-year jail sentence hanging over his head if he did anything wrong. Prosecutors had also requested 100 hours of community service and random alcohol screenings.

The Globe reports the judge declared the sentence after the victim said he did not want "the worst" for Doherty and expressed the hope he would get treatment.

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Comments

Another oath broken, and the bpd must know they have a big problem with racist officer's by now ???
You think.

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Violent assault, grand theft auto and liberal use of hate speech only results in probation now?!? I assume this has something to do with him being a cop, but they really ought to be held to even higher standards than other citizens. This sucks.

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Just remember this next time the state legislature provides a 14th amendment violating carve out in the gun laws for off duty police officers. Dangerous clowns like this are exempt from the same standards, responsibilities, and limitations put on citizens even after they retire.

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A Boston police officer who was found guilty of racial assault and physical battery on an Uber driver, then carjacked him (that's grand theft) and he got off with probation.

OMG OMG OMG, He also had prior complaints, domestics I think.

Treatment was not ordered, The judge expressed the hope he would get treatment.

(Now get this, If the cop was wearing his uniform and the driver hit back and injured the cop, it'd be a he said he said deciding if the driver was convicted of felony assault on a police officer.)

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Hey Judge:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/lcG5dMF.jpg)

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Really? The sentence would have not been that light if it was a black man accused of the crime. #racism still exist # equal rights

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for those that still are too ignorant to believe in white privilege....i give you exhibit A.

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Because you know anyone who assaulted an Uber drive then STOLE THEIR CAR would get off with just probation. Definitely didn't matter that he was a cop. This is insanity.

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I guess the judge just didn't believe that they could tell a cop that they were doing things wrong.

Good to see judge that knows his place, unlike people around here who think they could do a better job.

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Isn't carjacking a federal crime?

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Since he wasn't convicted of carjacking but of "operating without authority." Granted, that's normally applied to things like a kid using his parents' car without their permission, but still (also, I'm not a lawyer, so stand to be corrected, but carjacking can and has been handled in state courts; in this case, it's not like he drove across state lines).

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The marathon bombers did everything locally, yet among the charges was "interfering with interstate commerce", because when they robbed money from the guy with the ATM card, it was from a bank headquartered out of state.

ANYTHING can be considered interstate commerce these days. That makes every crime a federal crime.

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Cops will continue to break the law and be racist scumbags because they see examples like this that show they are above the law. Disgusting. Oh, and he still hasn't been fired, by the way.

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But Evans has started the process to fire him; he's been suspended without pay since his indictment.

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That Globe Spotlight series really hit em where they live in this town,eh?

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Violent criminal being lightly punished in MA?!

No way!

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good to be a cop.

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There is no shortage of examples of violent crime being punished lightly in this state.

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Thomas Latanowich on Cape Cod being the latest example; he had an unconscionable number of dismissed charges and only a single incarceration.

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Leniency in sentencing is a non-issue if someone isn't convicted, as in the cases you cite. If you can't convict someone, you can't sentence them.

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The Globe explains.

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Of course the victim would say that. He's already been intimidated by the police once. Let's not forget his name is now public record and he most probably (with good cause) fears retaliation by the offending cop's fraternal brotherhood. The whole system is broken.

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so she is giving him a chance to redeem himself. Unfortunately, redemption is too often not offered to others in the same situation.

And he really should apologize to the guy he verbally and physically attacked.

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Thomas Latanowich was just turning his life around.

BS, the courts in MA seem to believe in unicorns and fairy tales, not just in the instance of violent cops.

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"Doherty, clad in a dark pinstripe suit and black sneakers, did not address the court, since he plans to appeal, his lawyer said."

Not the action of someone accepting responsibility for his actions. Not worthy of leniency.

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Now I wouldn't lose any sleep if this guy went to jail for 10 years, but first offense crimes like this usually get 1-2 years probation regardless of race.

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Cops should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one, given their training and their being allowed to carry around weapons and make up convenient laws on the spot and all of that.

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He was off duty and didn't use his authority to commit any of the crimes in this situation. If he were working and did some of these things then sure, he would get a harsher penalty.

But that wasn't the case here.

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The justice system requires equal protection under the law. It's the workplace where policemen should be held to a higher standard.

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This take is accurate. Go sit in a courtroom, then comment. As a matter of fact, a case like this wouldn't even be indicted into the superior court, had he not been a cop. Your complaints are with the justice system, not this sentence. This is harsh by comparison to what any other citizen would get - because cops are held to a different standard, and they should be. Prosecutors need more power, but then they have too much power and everyone complains...this is the result. You can't have your cake and eat it...or something.

People's comments, their opinions on here are short cited. We need mandatory minimums for guys like this! Oh wait...mandatory minimums are bad! We need elected judges! Oh wait...then they make decisions based on upcoming elections, not justice. We need more cops! Oh wait...cops are bad.

Good thing commentators are only relevant for a few seconds. The justice system has to act in perpetuity. Slow your role.

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Probation for white Irish cop, if he was Black or Latino would have been sentenced to a year in prison!

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