Cop fined $4,000 for negligent manslaughter

A police officer convicted of manslaughter by negligence has been ordered to pay a fine of four thousand dollars. Sherwood Wade could have received five years in prison for the death of Darnell McDonald, but Supreme Court Justice Michelle Arana, after listening to testimony from three character witnesses, imposed the lesser penalty. “No useful purpose will be served by sending you to prison,” she told Wade, and ordered that the fine be paid by October sixth. Speaking on behalf of Wade were Police Commissioner Gerald Westby, Ann Pineda, and Pastor Morris Westby. McDonald was shot in June 2003 while riding in a van behind a police vehicle that had detained Michael “Crazy” Arnold following a melee at a Ladyville nightspot.