The surviving family members of two police officers killed in the line of duty are furious after state authorities paroled a member of the Black Liberation Army who police believe played a part in the murders.
Prosecutors have claimed that Robert Vickers admitted on tape to taking part in the assassination murders of officers Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie in 1972.
But now, the state Board of Parole has released the 74-year-old convict from prison after serving only eight years in a separate case, according to the New York Post.
"It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when someone like him is let out," aggrieved officer Laurie's widow, Adelaide Laurie, 75, told the paper.
"He loved the city and this is what he wanted to do," Laurie said of her fallen hero husband.
Laurie said the convict's actions "destroyed so many lives," and added, "To this day, my life has never been the same."
Vickers, who also went by the false name Rashad Rahman, was said to have been one of three men who sprayed bullets at the two officers 52 years ago. The three men ambushed the officers from behind on the Lower East Side of New York City.
Prosecutors said the three members of the Black Liberation Army killed the two officers because they were a mixed-race team, with officers Foster being black and Laurie white.
Vickers's fingerprints were found on a book at the scene of the murder of the officers, but the evidence did not lead to a conviction for the killings.
Exclusive: Drug dealer suspected in infamous Black Liberation Army killing of NYPD cops gets parole: ‘Sad state of affairs’ https://t.co/hCZ2Q3Jskl pic.twitter.com/HMIYWmOPqH
— New York Post (@nypost) February 23, 2024
While the state did not convict Vickers of murdering the officers, the police did finally nab Vickers for something. He was arrested in 2016 on drug charges and later convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison for selling heroin to a confidential informant.
Vickers also admitted to making bombs, and spoke to the informant about how to get away with murder, prosecutors said during his trial. And he was also on tape accepting a contract killing job, they said.
In addition, Vickers bragged about shooting a police officer, and said on tape, "He got shot in the head … boom. Knocked his eye out. He lived."
Vickers' attorney told reporters in 2015 that the drug bust that nabbed his client was a case of entrapment cooked up because authorities couldn't pin the double murder of the cops on him, according to the Times Union.
"It's just so transparent," Michael Feit told the news outlet.
The New York City police involvement in the Albany heroin case had "zero to do with drugs and everything to do with the claims, the suspicions of these detectives that Mr. Vickers had some involvement in some homicide of New York City police officers in 1972," he said.
Despite Feit's efforts, Vickers was convicted, and the judge said the murders of Foster and Laurie influenced his sentencing, according to the Post.
Later, during one of Vickers' parole hearings, prosecutors entered evidence in a letter opposing his release that claimed Vickers admitted on tape to being part of the three-man hit squad.
Officials did succeed in scotching Vickers' parole request in 2018. But this time, the cause of justice was not so lucky.
On Jan. 9. the convict was allowed to walk out of the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Oneida County, a free man after only serving eight of his 21-year sentence.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry blasted the system for allowing a cop killer to go free.
"Even 52 years later, it is still infuriating that this individual managed to escape accountability for assassinating Police Officers Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie," Hendry said.
"He should still be serving time for that crime, not to mention the crimes he committed later. He and his murderous accomplices showed no mercy when they assassinated our hero brothers. He deserves none now," Hendry added in his statement.
Vickers was released to hospice care and his supporters say he is dying. But Laurie has little sympathy.
"I cannot say that I feel any pity or sadness for this man," she said. "That’s just the way I feel, He’s a bad person."
The widows of officers Foster and Laurie are in sad company with the families of many other murdered cops, too. According to the Police Benevolent Association, 41 cop killers have been let out of prison since 2017.
Bleeding-heart, left-wing operatives constantly work to weaken our criminal justice system, and all too often they are successful. Thanks to them, there are countless violent criminals now roaming our streets, making everyone less safe.
