NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A former police officer in Virginia was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for fatally shooting a man after a struggle in which the man got hold of a stun gun and used it on officers.
The Daily Press reported that former Newport News police officer Albin Pearson was immediately remanded into sheriff’s office custody following his sentencing.
The 2019 shooting of Henry “Hank” Berry III stemmed from an incident in which Pearson and three other officers responded to Berry’s home for his alleged abuse of the 911 system, WAVY-TV reported.
Berry refused to come outside and tried to close his front door — and the officers entered and tried to arrest him, authorities said. The officers lacked a search warrant or an arrest warrant.
During the ensuing struggle, Berry got control of a stun gun, authorities said. Pearson shot Berry in the back.
Pearson was initially charged with second-degree murder. But a jury convicted him of manslaughter and a misdemeanor trespass charge.
