A former Denver Police officer was sentenced to several years in prison for firing a handgun at local law enforcement officers in South Dakota.
Kachina McAlexander, who resigned from her job with DPD last April, was previously convicted of three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of reckless use of a firearm.
McAlexander was sentenced Tuesday to five years for each of the three counts but the judge suspended three years of each sentence. The judge also ordered that the reduced sentence be served concurrently, meaning McAlexander will now spend two years behind bars unless she is paroled early. The judge told McAlexander she would be eligible after one year.
McAlexander spoke in court Tuesday, apologizing for her actions, saying she was scared and would never try to intentionally hurt another law enforcement officer.
McAlexander was holed up in a Custer, S.D. motel room on March 24, 2009 when local officers arrived in response to a report that McAlexander might be suicidal.
The 10-year DPD veteran is accused of firing her weapon at the responding officers, none of whom was injured.
At the sentencing, the state's attorney said McAlexander had not taken full responsibility for her actions and noted her history of firing guns when emotional.
According to The Denver Post, McAlexander faced weapons charges in 2006 after firing at a television and at the walls of her home in Adams County. Like the March 24 incident, McAlexander was reportedly suicidal at the time.
A judge acquitted McAlexander of those charges and an appeal by prosecutors was not successful.
McAlexander, who originally faced attempted murder charges, eventually pleaded not guilty to the 2009 charges was convicted by a jury. She has been in custody since the trial
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