The son of North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer (R) was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison.
Ian Cramer, 43, was charged with manslaughter last December after he crashed his family’s SUV into a police cruiser, concluding an hourlong chase. He killed a sheriff’s deputy standing behind the vehicle.
The younger Cramer pleaded guilty in September to homicide while fleeing a peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer and drug-and driving-related offenses.
Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin, 53, died in the incident on Dec. 6, 2023.
According to The Hill, “District Judge Bobbi Weiler sentenced Ian Cramer to 38 years in prison with 10 years suspended, three years of probation and credit since he served more than a year in jail, the AP reported.”
Ian said he had no intention of killing Martin and apologized to his family. He said it was best for him to seek treatment in a hospital. (RELATED: Senator Confirms Son Involved In Chase Resulting In Accident That Killed Officer)
Martin was outside his patrol car, attempting to deploy a tire deflation device to end the pursuit when he was killed.
Kevin Cramer, who has served North Dakota in the U.S. Senate since 2019, said last year that his son was suffering from mental health issues that cause him to experience paranoia and hallucinations.
The senator said his wife, Kris, had taken their son to Sanford Health emergency room in Bismarck after he was insisting to see his brother, Ike, who died in 2018. When Kris stepped out of the vehicle, Ian jumped into the driver’s seat and fled which ultimately resulted in the fatal accident. The couple’s daughter tracked where Ian was going through his wife’s cell phone, which led officers to locate him in neighboring Mercer County.
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I think we can all sympathize with both families. It is a life changing tragedy for all and very difficult to deal with.