A Monroe County court judge sentenced the woman, who was pregnant at the time, who was videotaped tussling with a Rochester police officer and resisting arrest on Tuesday.
Brenda Hardaway will serve 6 months in jail and five years on probation. Hardaway plead guilt to second-degree assault in January. She spent more than 2 months in county jail before posting bail in November.
The president of the United Christian Leadership Ministry of Western, New York, Reverend Lewis Stewart called Hardaway's sentencing “unjust and racially” motivated. He says she should have been sentenced to time already served along with probation.
"This is a particularly harsh sentence imposed on the defendant who previously had no criminal record, was pregnant, was not a flight risk, was not engaged in the use of narcotics, nor possessed any illegal weapons. She was merely attempting to defend her brother."
Stewart says the group of clergyman want to organize court watches to keep track of sentencing parameters. He says that’s with the goal to improve community relations between residents, police and the court system.
"I think everybody in this case, in retrospect, could have acted differently. The police could have also acted differently. The police could have sent a more seasoned officer there to defuse the situation and deal with it."
District Attorney Sandra Doorley says she and her office felt that a plea in the second defense was appropriate.
"As I do with every single case that comes through this office we look at the facts. In this case we had a fair evaluation of the facts. We are interested in seeing that justice is served in every case."
Stewart says Hardaway's 7 month old son will be cared for by her mother while she's in jail.
