Plummer’s attorney has maintained that he believed the officers were burglars trying to break into his home. Someone in Plummer’s home had called police to report a possible break-in on the man’s street before the
April 16 shooting
.
The judge said there was “no ideal” outcome for Plummer’s case. Hathaway said Plummer’s case is “tragically complicated” and that it occurs in the context of “an unfortunate abundance” of conflict across the country between police officers and citizens that has resulted in the death of citizens as well as the death or injury of officers.
“These two police officers could have perished as a result of what happened,” said Hathaway. “And yet I think everybody understands that you were not acting maliciously ... that you had no intention of injuring a police officer as such and that you acted as a result of ... inexperience and you were thrust into circumstances that you never should have been thrust into,” the
Detroit News
reports.