Only On 2: Police Officer In Shock That Woman Convicted Of Murdering His Brother Could Go Free
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A police officer is stunned and in disbelief after learning that the woman who was convicted of murdering his bother could get out of prison.
CBS2's Tom Wait reported from LAPD headquarters about the family's fight.
It's a story that is Only On 2.
"Breaks my heart for the whole law enforcement profession," says LAPD Captain Brian Pratt.
For Pratt, crime and punishment is deeply personal. His own brother -- also an LAPD officer, was gunned down in the line of duty in 1988.
Pratt was undercover with another officer when he was shot and killed during a gang-related drive-by.
The driver of the car, Raylene Brooks, is being considered for parole.
"She could have told her boyfriend 'No I'm not going to do this.' But she tactically drove the vehicle the wrong way down the street so she could put her vehicle as close as possible to my brother's police vehicle," Pratt says.
Pratt's big brother Daniel was 30 when he was murdered. At his memorial Captain Pratt talked about how much Daniel loved his family.
Brooks was 17 at the time of the killing. Now 45, she had family post an apology online. It reads in part:
"I have been consumed with guilt and shame over the last 10 years of my incarceration. Guilty, because of the life I took and so many other lives I endangered. Ashamed, because for many years I thought nothing of it! You cannot value anyone else's life if your own life has no value. If I could, I would trade my life for Daniel's in a heartbeat!
Captain Pratt says she may be sorry but she hasn't gotten the punishment she deserves.
"She expounds on how she wants a family. My brother had a daughter that he never saw. My sister-in-law was five or six months pregnant when he got killed. My niece has never seen her father," Pratt said.
The full parole board will review a panel's recommendation for parole. If they approve it, the governor gets the recommendation and it's up to him to decide.
