More than two years after ambushing Philadelphia Police Officer Jesse Hartnett in the name of the Islamic State terrorist group, Edward Archer learned that he will spend several decades behind bars for the attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Archer, 33, was sentenced Monday to 48.5 to 97 years, the maximum sentence available to the district attorney's office.
Surveillance video shows Hartnett being ambushed in a hail of gunfire while sitting in his patrol car on the streets of West Philadelphia on Jan. 7 2016.
"Make no mistake about it, Edward Archer was a man with a plan that night," Assistant District Attorney Jan McDermott said during the jury trial, adding that he was "lying in wait" with an illegal handgun, gloves and a scarf around his face.
Archer fired 13 bullets, three of which shattered bones and damaged nerves in Hartnett's arm. Hartnett, who required multiple surgeries after the shooting, still managed to shoot back at the attacker, striking him once in the buttocks, the prosecutor said.
Hartnett continues to recover from his injuries and hopes to return to the force though he admits he may be forced to retire due to his injuries.
"I’ve had some serious physical injury and my goal stiil is, of course, to go back," Hartnett said outside the courtroom.
When questioned by police, Archer repeatedly pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and said he acted out of religious inspiration, investigators said.
But authorities have said there's no indication he coordinated the attack with a terrorist organization. He also wasn't charged with a terrorism-related offense.
