It must be snowing, because a federal court sentenced a white Chicago police officer to 60 months in prison for shooting into a car full of black teenagers in 2013.
On Monday, Marco Proano, 42, received the five-year sentence three months after he was convicted of two counts of using unreasonable force and causing bodily injury.
ABC 7 Chicago reports that a jury of nine men and three women deliberated for more than three hours after hearing two days of testimony before reaching its verdict.
As reported earlier by The Root, Proano was caught on dashcam video shooting 16 rounds into a car carrying six black teens. Two were injured—one in the shoulder, the other in his hip and heel. The Toyota they were driving was stopped for speeding, and turned out to be stolen.
The original police account was that one of the teens was attempting to exit the car, and figuring that the juvenile was in danger, Proano fired to stop the car. ABC reports that Proano said he was protecting human life.
Judge Gary Feinerman, who oversaw the trial, said that he watched the police video several times in slow motion, and determined that no one was in danger. He called Proano’s actions a deliberate, reckless attempt to stop the occupants of the vehicle using the maximum force possible.
Incredibly, Proano’s attorney tried to argue that his client was a scapegoat and a victim of anti-police sentiment following the October 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old who was shot 16 times by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke while he lay prone on the ground.
The Proano case is similar to one in Texas where a Balch Springs police officer also fired into a car of black teens—this time killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
Proano will still get to spend the holidays with his family. He is to report to federal prison on Jan. 23, 2018.
Read more at ABC 7 Chicago.