UPDATE: 40 Years for Man Shot 28 Times by Police
Dozens of supporters showed up Thursday at Cook County Court to attend the sentencing of a former Chicago police officer they say is caught up in a lie.
Howard Morgan was shot 28 times by police during a 2005 traffic stop and was found guilty last week of trying to kill the responding officers.
"My heart is very heavy, but I have to maintain my composure because I don't want them to think they got the best of us," said Morgan's wife, Rosalind, inside the courtroom Thursday.
Four officers said that on Feb. 21, 2005, Morgan pulled his service weapon on them and began firing when they tried to arrest him for driving the wrong way near 19th Street and Lawndale.
The officers shot Morgan, who was off-duty at the time, 28 times. Morgan lived and was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and discharging a weapon at a police officer.
He was acquitted of the latter two charges in 2007. The court retried him for attempted murder, and a jury on Friday found him guilty.
Rosalind Morgan called the verdict "ludicrous." She told the Sun-Times the case is rife with racism, saying her husband has no prior criminal record and served as a police officer for years.
In court on Thursday, Officer John Wrigley said he's angry Morgan has showed no remorse.
"You shot me, Morgan," Wrigley yelled in court. "You came very close to taking my life."
Morgan could get up to 80 years in jail.
