Ryan David Frederick is a prisoner in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. On February 4, 2009, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment following conviction for voluntary manslaughter

Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion," under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. In the Uniform Crime Reports prepared by the...

 for the January 17, 2008 shooting death of police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

 Jarrod Shivers. The shooting occurred at Frederick's home in Chesapeake, Virginia

Chesapeake, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...

 during the execution of an knock-and-announce

Knock-and-announce

Knock-and-announce, in United States law of criminal procedure, is an ancient common-law principle, incorporated into the Fourth Amendment, which often requires law enforcement officers to announce their presence and provide residents with an opportunity to open the door prior to a valid...

/exigent circumstances police raid serving a warrant

Search warrant

A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....

 to search for a marijuana grow operation

Cannabis (drug) cultivation

This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of the flowering plant cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of marijuana buds. Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ...

. The case is notable for the magnitude of support the defendant

Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...

 received from his community, the press

News media

The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

, and blogs, as well as for the relative leniency of the charge the jury

Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...

chose for conviction in the death of an on-duty police officer.