Former Alabama Officer Sentenced 25 Years for Killing Suicidal Man

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A judge sentenced a former Alabama police officer to 25 years in prison Friday for the shooting death of a suicidal man who was holding a gun to his own head.

Former Huntsville police officer William “Ben” Darby was convicted in May of killing Jeffrey Parker in 2018. Darby shot Parker while responding to a call after the man phoned 911 saying he was armed and planned to kill himself.

Prosecutors argued during the sentencing hearing that Darby’s lack of willingness to admit wrongdoing and the “gravity of what he did to Jeffery Parker” deserved a long sentence, news outlets reported. Darby and others pleaded for leniency, saying there was no evil intent when he pulled the trigger.

“After the shooting, I would wake up in the middle of the night. I would think about Mr. Parker. I would think about his face. I would think about his fiance,” Darby said, according to WHNT.

“There is no evil intent,” Darby said. “There is no malice. I am human. I am Christian. The taking of a human life was not lost on me. I’m asking for mercy, I’m asking for leniency.”

The case drew additional controversy when Darby was allowed to remain on city payroll for two months after his conviction.

The guilty verdict was criticized by both the mayor and police chief, but lauded by the victim’s family, who said they hope it will spur law enforcement to change how they approach mental health crises.

During the trial, jurors saw video of the shooting taken from police body cameras, and Darby testified that he feared seeing “one of my officers” get hurt and fired after Parker only shrugged when ordered to put down the gun he was holding to his own head.

“An innocent man was murdered,” prosecutor Tim Gann told jurors in closing arguments this spring. “He called for help and he got Ben Darby.”