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After an eight-day trial, Eric Ruch Jr., 34, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of crime for his role in the shooting death of 25-year-old Dennis Plowden in 2017, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
His bail was revoked and sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17
The DA's office says this trial was the first in the city in which an on-duty police officer was tried for murder.
In 2020, a grand jury recommended charges including first-degree murder, NBC10 reports. That charge was eventually dropped.
The events that led to the tragic ending on Dec. 27, 2017, in the Germantown neighborhood, spanned less than three minutes, authorities said.
"Eric Ruch killed Dennis Plowden while on duty, by firing his gun directly at Plowden's head, as Plowden sat on the ground with his left empty hand raised and clearly visible," DA Larry Krasner said at a press conference in 2020.
"I mention that because the bullet tore through the fingers of that left hand before it entered Plowden’s head," he added.
Plowden died the next day at a local hospital.
Ruch was in an unmarked police car when he received a radio call about a moving vehicle that had possibly been involved in a homicide, authorities previously said.
Plowden was driving that car, which was eventually pulled over by the police.
"The two unmarked cars along with two marked police vehicles pursued Plowden at high speed until he struck three parked cars, spun around, and finally stopped after striking a pole," DA Krasner said at the time.
"According to evidence presented to a grand jury, Plowden looked dazed on the sidewalk," the DA explained. "He had just stumbled from his car, following a high-speed crash, and appeared to have been trying to obey police commands given by officers at the scene."
Ruch was fired months after the deadly incident.
"I thank the jury of Philadelphia residents for their service over these past eight days. Jury service is among the most noble and demanding forms of public service we ask of civilians," DA Larry Krasner said.
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