Man sentenced to 45 years in prison for shooting Colorado Springs Police officer in head
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The man convicted of attempted murder after shooting a Colorado Springs Police Officer in the head has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi was sentenced Thursday to 45 years in prison, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Al Khammasi was convicted of attempted murder of a peace officer, along with assault and felony menacing back in June, according to court records. Al Khammasi was arrested following a shooting that left CSPD Officer Cem Duzel gravely wounded.
Cem Duzel was shot in the head while responding to a call about shots fired near Bonfoy and Boulder Ave. in August 2018. Witnesses say they saw Al Khammasi at Skybox Lounge and the Angry Pirate, both bars, before the incident. Al Khammasi was quickly arrested, and officers found several .40 caliber gun casings in a five-block radius.
Duzel survived the shooting but had to undergo rehabilitation, and he hasn’t been able to return to duty.
Duzel spoke briefly at a press conference after the sentencing, expressing gratitude for those involved in the prosecution of the case. His father, Mumtaz, thanked the Colorado Springs community for the support the family received the last three years.
"We still get prayers and cards from them, and I cannot thank you enough for everything everyone did for us, Mumtaz Duzel said. "So, thank you. Today was hopefully closure to a better chapter and we're still working with Cem, to get him better and to function a little better and he's responding well."
Al Khammasi is a refugee from Iraq for unknown reasons, and had been in the U.S. for over six years. Al Khammasi fled Iraq and was in Istanbul when he was granted refugee status by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012. One of his felonies in the U.S. almost got him deported in 2016, according to the Associated Press, but the proceedings were ended with an appeals court ruling.
KRDO asked Mumtaz Duzel if he had a message for Al Khammasi.
"Probably not, probably not. I think the sentence alone was an answer to what he's done and I hope he sits and thinks about it," he said.
