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WTF? A sworn officer commits an aggravated robbery and gets 10 years probation?
Alph Coleman was a Dallas police officer who betrayed his badge and the public trust when he masterminded the robbery of a Sam’s Club.
But on Wednesday, the same jury that found him guilty of aggravated robbery slapped him on the wrist and let him go free — on probation.
Coleman, fired long ago and convicted Tuesday, was working an off-duty security job for the store when he and two others still facing charges tried to rob the store in 2008. No one was hurt in the robbery and no money was taken from the Red Bird-area store.
Jurors left the courtroom without commenting on their decision to give him 10 years of probation.
Coleman had faced up to life in prison. His attorneys Tom D'Amore, Bill Wirskye and Chris Knox, asked for probation.
“The community will be no safer if he is prison,” Wirskye told jurors. “Probation is punishment.”
Wirskye added that Coleman has already been punished because he will always be known as a bad cop and a convicted felon.
“He will carry that with him like a scarlet letter,” Wirskye said.
Public integrity unit prosecutors Frank Able and James Bagnall had argued that Coleman deserved a life sentence.
“One of the cornerstones of any police department is trust, public trust,” Bagnall told jurors. “What happens when that police officer not only orchestrates but participates fully in an armed robbery? ... He violated the public trust.”
Able told jurors that Coleman and his two co-defendants “victimized” the terrified Sam's employees and Dallas police.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins filed into the courtroom to hear the verdict but left immediately after State District Judge Don Adams read the jury's decision.
The officer's father, also named Coleman, who had tears on his eyes, said “God is good” after the jurors left the courtroom.
Alph Coleman was a Dallas police officer who betrayed his badge and the public trust when he masterminded the robbery of a Sam’s Club.
But on Wednesday, the same jury that found him guilty of aggravated robbery slapped him on the wrist and let him go free — on probation.
Coleman, fired long ago and convicted Tuesday, was working an off-duty security job for the store when he and two others still facing charges tried to rob the store in 2008. No one was hurt in the robbery and no money was taken from the Red Bird-area store.
Jurors left the courtroom without commenting on their decision to give him 10 years of probation.
Coleman had faced up to life in prison. His attorneys Tom D'Amore, Bill Wirskye and Chris Knox, asked for probation.
“The community will be no safer if he is prison,” Wirskye told jurors. “Probation is punishment.”
Wirskye added that Coleman has already been punished because he will always be known as a bad cop and a convicted felon.
“He will carry that with him like a scarlet letter,” Wirskye said.
Public integrity unit prosecutors Frank Able and James Bagnall had argued that Coleman deserved a life sentence.
“One of the cornerstones of any police department is trust, public trust,” Bagnall told jurors. “What happens when that police officer not only orchestrates but participates fully in an armed robbery? ... He violated the public trust.”
Able told jurors that Coleman and his two co-defendants “victimized” the terrified Sam's employees and Dallas police.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins filed into the courtroom to hear the verdict but left immediately after State District Judge Don Adams read the jury's decision.
The officer's father, also named Coleman, who had tears on his eyes, said “God is good” after the jurors left the courtroom.
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