A Sioux City police officer was in the courtroom today for the sentencing of the man who admitted to shooting him. Officer Kevin McCormick was shot in the forehead on April 29th by 22-year-old Jamal Dean after McCormick stopped a car Dean was riding in.
Dean fired several shots at the patrol car, with one bullet passing through the windshield and hitting the officer a couple of inches above the eye. Dean was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder as McCormick looked on.
“I don’t necessarily feel as though I was here today for closure, I don’t feel like it was ever real open for me. Never the less, I think it is important for closure for the citizens of Sioux City, and so I felt that my presence would be somewhat important today,” McCormick says.
He says he is pleased with the plea agreement and the sentence that Dean was given. The officer says you never know what you are going to get when you go to trial. “I think that for Mr. Dean to stand up and admit that he was guilty of this charge — the attempted murder — is the first step in rehabilitation,” McCormick says.
Officer McCormick says he has few physical side effects from the shooting. “Minor stuff, I still get occasional headaches that I attribute to the bullet wound. I still get a little bit of numbness in my forehead, in that area,” McCormick says.
“However, speaking with doctors it sounds to me like that’s likely going to go away with time.” Dean must serve a minimum of 17-and-a-half years in prison before he is eligible for parole. He was also ordered to pay 94-hundred dollars in restitution. Dean made not statement during the sentencing.
By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City