WASHINGTON — A DC Superior Court judge sentenced a retired Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) lieutenant to three years in prison for a shooting that killed a special police officer at the Anacostia Library more than a year ago. However, loved ones of the victim say justice was not served.
Jesse Porter pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June as part of a plea agreement, which was originally a second-degree murder charge.
Porter killed 25-year-old Maurica Manyan following a baton and handcuff technique training at the library. They were taking photos after the class wrapped up for the day, according to charging documents in the case. When Manyan paused to take off her mask and adjust her hair for the picture, the former officer pulled a gun from his holster and pointed it at her. The gun went off.
According to one witness, Porter said, "I thought I had my training gun. Why did I do this? Is she OK?"
Defense attorney Brian McDaniel argued during the sentencing hearing that Porter was remorseful for his actions, although he never answered exactly why he pulled the trigger. Despite Manyan's family and friends labeling his client as a murderer, McDaniel called the incident a "tragic accident." He also disputed claims that Porter was under the influence at the time of the training and was making advances the day before.
The defense and loved ones clashed over what they perceived happened after viewing surveillance video from inside the library.
"Anybody that reviews the videotape could see this was an accident," McDaniel told WUSA9. "His initial reaction after he accidentally Ms. Manyan was one of shock. We believe the sentence reflects what obviously happened."
Porter may have briefly apologized to Manyan's loved ones but they walked out of the courtroom upset by the three-year sentencing, the lowest end of the sentencing guidelines.
The prosecution requested the judge to hand down a seven-year sentence, the maximum allowed.
"The plea deal should've never been on the table," brother Radcliffe Mayan told WUSA9. "We know who did it. There is no justification like I said on why. He should've been sentenced a year ago. And for this process to be drawn out is unreasonable. Who do we have to blame for this? They obviously don't want to blame him. So do we blame D.C. for hiring him?"
Family members argued the judge should not give him a "slap on the wrist" because his behavior was negligent and reckless for someone with decades worth of law enforcement and public safety experience.
"You aimed it at her heart and I heard she groaned three times," Manyan's great aunt Cynthia Marshall said. "You're consumed with evil. An ex-policeman should be protecting instead of murder. You murdered her and the death penalty is too good for you."
The family still questions why Porter brought a live gun inside the library and is pursuing action to determine if policies were violated.
"Watching Officer Maurica fight for her life on the floor of the Anacostia Neighborhood Library with her killer towering over her in her final moments was nothing short of heartbreaking," a family representative added. "The District of Columbia bears a heavy responsibility for allowing such a tragedy to occur in a public library against one of their own public servants. We are calling for an investigation into the multiple suspected policy violations we observed on the surveillance footage which included allowing Porter to enter the library with a loaded gun and permitting him to remain, just feet from where Officer Manyan was gunned down – uncuffed and armed with the weapon that killed her, surrounded by his former MPD colleagues."
Among the people in the courtroom include Manyan's five-year-old son. Close to a dozen people gave their victim impact statements including aunt Geraldine Manyan. She said the lighter sentencing is only adding to the torment the family has endured the last year.
"We're heavily disappointed in this system that we trusted to deliver justice for us," Geraldine Manyan said. "She was trying to do the job that he spent 33 years doing. She never got the opportunity to fulfill that. We're angry. We understand it's ok, it's a tragedy, but at the end of the day, give a satisfaction that this man is at least going to do time for the crime that he committed. Seven years is not enough."
The judge is also requiring Porter to serve five years of probation. He denied the request by the family for restitution.
Another witness described Porter as "distraught." Porter assisted in giving CPR to Manyan, according to a police report.
The group had been handling training guns during the day and Porter and others were packing up and putting away props just prior to the incident, according to the police report.
Manyan was a Special Police Officer for D.C. Public Libraries. According to D.C. Police, Special Police officers are commissioned to protect a specific property. The officers can carry a weapon and make arrests at that location. SPOs must also be licensed and undergo training.