Judge wants ex-officer in stun case to be cautionary tale
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge says a former western Pennsylvania police officer who used a stun gun on a man while he was handcuffed must teach law enforcement officers about the evils of excessive force as part of her sentence.
Nicole Murphy was sentenced Friday to three years of probation, with the first year on home confinement.
The 30-year-old must also complete 300 hours of community service that the judge says will involve using herself as an example of how officers shouldn’t act.
Murphy was working in the tiny Pittsburgh suburb of Millvale when she stunned Thomas Jason James Smith three times after his public drunkenness arrest in September 2012.
A cellphone video showed Murphy and other officers laughing at Smith during the ordeal.
Prosecutors wanted 27-33 months in prison.