A Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man after a car chase in 2017 was released from prison Tuesday after nine months behind bars.
Eric Ruch Jr., 35, was convicted of manslaughter in September 2022 for fatally shooting Dennis Plowden Jr. several years earlier.
In November, Ruch was sentenced to between 11 and 23 months in prison. His attorneys argued for his early release based on good behavior, and a judge agreed Tuesday, local radio station KYW reported.
On Dec. 27, 2017, Ruch and his partner began chasing Plowden’s car, claiming it had been linked to a murder investigation. After a three-block chase that reached speeds of 75 mph, Plowden slammed into multiple parked vehicles.
After the crash, Plowden attempted to get out of his car and walk away, but he sat down in an apparent daze, according to investigators. Plowden raised his left hand to cover his face, seemingly to surrender, prosecutors said.
Ruch shot him dead “within six to eight seconds” of arriving on the scene, according to court documents. Ruch claimed that he thought Plowden was raising his arm to fire a gun. However, no weapon was ever found at the scene.
The officers were not wearing body cameras, and no video of the shooting has been seen publicly.
At trial, prosecutors said Ruch “shot a surrendering unarmed man in the head.” However, a jury acquitted Ruch of third-degree murder while convicting him of voluntary manslaughter.
After the sentence was handed down in November, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner appealed for a heftier sentence, arguing Ruch received a term “far below sentencing guidelines.” Krasner’s office also argued unsuccessfully against Ruch’s early release.