Maurice Hill sentenced to 120-240 years after shooting 6 Philadelphia police officers in 2019 standoff
Maurice Hill — a man convicted of shooting six Philadelphia police officers during a 2019 standoff in Philadelphia's Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood — was sentenced Thursday to 120-240 years in state prison, District Attorney Larry Krasner's office confirmed.
While officers were serving a narcotics warrant on Aug. 14, 2019 at a home on 15th Street near Erie Avenue, Hill fired a gun through a wall and struck the officers.
He then barricaded himself inside the home with a handgun and AR-15 rifle, leading to a standoff during which he fired dozens of rounds at officers, before ultimately surrendering after about seven hours.
Former Police Commissioner Richard Ross said at the time it was "nothing short of a miracle" that no officers were killed. The officers struck by Hill's gunfire had non-life-threatening injuries.
About 30 officers fired their weapons during the shootout, CBS News Philadelphia reported at the time.
Hill's case went to trial and concluded in May with jurors finding him guilty of three counts of attempted murder, nine counts of aggravated assault and nine counts of assault on an officer.
"Today's sentencing concludes one of the worst moments in the history of Philadelphia criminal justice," Krasner said in a statement. "Maurice Hill's relentless barrage of bullets terrified an entire community and nearly took the lives of multiple people, including police and neighborhood residents. We are glad that justice was served in this case and that there was no loss of life."
Roosevelt Poplar, president of the FOP Lodge 5, which represents Philly officers, issued the following statement:
We're thankful to the court for sentencing this defendant to 120-to-240 years in prison, a sentence that will keep this individual locked up for life. Make no mistake, our police officers ran toward danger back in 2019 to arrest a violent, felon. We owe all of these heroes a debt of gratitude, as they continue to serve our great city with honor, respect and professionalism. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all of our rank-and-file police officers for doing the hard work of keeping our city safe every day through all types of adversities.
