PHILADELPHIA (November 29, 2022) – District Attorney Larry Krasner on Tuesday issued the following statement regarding Commonwealth v. Eric Ruch:
“Yesterday, my office filed a motion respectfully requesting the Court of Common Pleas to reconsider its sentence of 11½ to 23 months incarceration for former Officer Eric Ruch, who was convicted this fall for his role in the on-duty killing of Dennis Plowden, an unarmed Black man, in 2017. This sentence is a gross downward departure from the mitigated range of the guidelines for Voluntary Manslaughter and an even greater downward departure from the standard range. The record does not support this departure; such a departure severely lessens the gravity of the offense for which the defendant was convicted – intentionally taking the life of another human being – and suggests that a different standard applies to this defendant than other defendants.“We respectfully request that the Court reconsider its sentence, and sentence the defendant within the state standard guidelines. His conduct warranted such a sentence, and it would be the just result.”The Philadelphia District Attorney’s motion to reconsider the sentence of former Philadelphia Police Officer Eric Ruch can be found on PhillyDA.org.
CONTACT:Jane Roh, 215-686-8711, [email protected]
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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually. Learn more about the DAO by visiting PhillyDA.org.