A drunk driving cop was sentenced Friday to just 90 days for killing a pastor's daughter - partly because the victim had had a few drinks, the prosecutor and judge said.
"The sentence may seem to light to some," Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alan Marrus said of the deal ex-NYPD Officer Andrew Kelly got in the death of Vionique Valnord, 32.
Marrus cited "the alcohol consumption of the victim [and] the fact that she walked out onto a rainy street" in the dark as reasons Kelly didn't get a harsher penalty.
"She was at a wedding. She had been drinking," prosecutor Gayle Dampf said of the victim.
The Valnord family's lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, bristled at the excuse.
"You have a woman who had a few drinks at a wedding - she's not driving - and you have a police officer who was drunk, admittedly drunk, and he's driving - and how is that equivalent?" he said.
Rubenstein is representing the family in a civil suit against the NYPD, which they claim tried to cover up the fact that Kelly was over the legal limit. Valnord's father and husband did approve the plea deal, however
"I want to praise your extraordinary compassion," Marrus told the Rev. Varius Valnord and widower Seni Kassime.
After sentencing, Kelly stood and mumbled a terse apology.
"My sympathies are extended to the victim's family," he said, looking at the judge.
Kelly, 32, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, with a maximum sentence of seven years. In addition to the 90 days at Rikers, he got five years' probation and must get alcohol treatment.
Because he started his jail term Sept. 24, Kelly will be home for the holidays.
Kelly was driving home to Queens after a night of partying when he slammed into Valnord while she was hailing a cab in Flatlands on Sept. 27, 2009.
"Nothing will bring my wife back," Kassime said after the hearing. "But I am satisfied with the sentence."
i still think this guy should get more or maybe they stick up for caops even if they do something wrong?!
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