A New York City husband arrested for killing a man who police say tried to rape his wife has had his charges reduced.
Mamadou Diallo’s case received widespread media coverage, much of it from people who saw him as a hero, but the 61-year-old was initially charged with manslaughter but the charge was later reduced to a lesser charge of assault.
Security video from the crime scene shows Diallo arriving on the scene and confronting his wife’s attackers.
Prosecutors have warned that Diallo could face additional charges as a result of the investigation, but his supporters cheered him on Tuesday, calling the arraignment a victory.
“This was an attack on a family under extreme circumstances,” Diallo’s lawyer, Anthony Michaels, said Tuesday in Bronx Criminal Court.
Prosecutors did not ask for a specific bail amount, asking that it be decided at the judge’s discretion.
A judge released the driver on bail after he was charged with assault and unlawful possession of a weapon. He is due to appear again in court on June 27.
Authorities said Diallo’s wife was at their Bronx apartment when a man, identified by police as 43-year-old Earl Nash, knocked on the door.
Diallo’s wife told police that when she answered the phone, Nash came in and began forcibly removing her clothes.
The victim was able to escape his attacker and use his cell phone to call Diallo, according to the NYPD.
Police said Diallo, who was outside the building at the time of the attack, re-entered the building and soon confronted Nash in the hallway.
According to a statement from the NYPD, Diallo then “assaulted the assailant, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries.”
Diallo was arrested by the New York Police Department and charged with manslaughter, but his sentence was later reduced.
Meanwhile, Diallo’s family has spoken out to his defence, with his son Abdul telling CBS New York that his father’s actions were typical of any husband.
“I think any husband would do what he did,” Abdul said.
“If you saw your wife being assaulted and sexually harassed, you would hit that person. You wouldn’t just sit back and let that person walk away. So I don’t think he’s wrong.”