Atlanta's former 'Top cop' receives 70 months in corruption case

<p>As his friends and relatives pleaded for leniency, disgraced Atlanta police officer David Alan Freeman hung his head and wept.</p><p>Saying that Freeman let down his family, his community and his colleagues, Federal Judge Charles A. Pannell sentenced the Atlanta Police Department's former "Officer of the Year" to 5 years and 10 months in prison for crimes committed as an associate of the Diablos gang.</p><p>Before he was sentenced, defense attorneys tried to erase the image of Freeman _ also known as "Day Day" to friends and gang members _ instead painted a picture of a frustrated officer who took vigilante justice too far in trying to save Zone One, the community he was raised in and served as an officer for more than a decade.</p><p>"There is more good in Day Day than bad," his niece, Debbie Carter told the judge as she choked back sobs. "He loves the area, he loves the kids, he loves the old people. He would be much better outside helping people."</p><p>Dressed in a white t-shirt and khakis, Freeman spoke briefly on his behalf and apologized to the judge.</p><p>"I'm sorry that all of this happened. I often spoke to the youth and the community about choices and consequences," he said.</p><p>Prosecutors argued that because Freeman rose above his rough beginnings and was a representative of law enforcement, he should be held to a higher standard. "He was in a position of public trust. He betrayed that trust," Assistant U.S. Attorney Yonette Buchanan said.</p><p>Freeman has already served two years in jail awaiting trial, and will receive credit for that time. Additionally, he could get up to 54 days a year off his sentence for good time. After the hearing, Freeman's attorneys told his family that he will likely serve about another three years behind bars.</p><p>He was facing life in prison if convicted, but pleaded to one count of a federal civil rights charge accusing him of misusing his authority and overseeing a beating conducted by at least one member of the Diablos in 2001.</p><p>When he is released from prison, he will serve three years probation and 80 hours of community service.</p><p>"He wanted to make a difference in an area where he grew up," said Janice Singer, one of Freeman's attorneys, who added that Freeman was an associate, not a member or leader of the Diablos as presented by the prosecution. "He was doing his level best to help people, but his zeal got the best of him."</p><p>Freeman was arrested just two weeks after being named "Officer of the Year" by the Atlanta Police Department. The 12-year veteran of the force was known as a no-nonsense, aggressive officer who overcame a childhood in Perry Homes, a rough northwest Atlanta housing project in the same area where the Diablos gang operated.</p><p>Prosecutors said Freeman helped the Diablos avoid prosecution, giving them a heads up on police investigations, confiscating drugs from arrested suspects in rival gangs and attempting to recruit gang members. The federal indictment, which was later dismissed, named Freeman as a key lieutenant in the Diablos, where he went by the name "Day Day" and supplied the gang with drugs and money.</p><p>"He was a good cop and a bad cop," said David Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Court of Georgia. "He was a gang while he was policing the streets of Atlanta."</p><p>Had he not cooperated in three other cases, including testifying against the Diablos and a former colleague in the Atlanta Police Department, Freeman could have received up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine under his plea agreement. For his cooperation, the government reduced their recommended sentence to 70 months, to which the judge agreed.</p>

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