Kicking a handcuffed Harrisburg activist in the face already has cost former state Trooper Ryan Luckenbaugh his job. On Tuesday, a Dauphin County judge decided it should also cost him his freedom.



During an emotional hearing in which a tearful Luckenbaugh pleaded for mercy, Judge Scott A. Evans sentenced him to 9 to 22 months in county prison on his official oppression, simple assault and harassment convictions.



"He had a badge on his chest," Evans said. "And that's what makes this egregious."



Luckenbaugh, who turned 38 on Monday, will start serving that sentence on May 16.



Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephen Zawisky urged Evans to put Luckenbaugh behind bars, and not just for kicking Chris Siennick on May 16, 2015 as the activist sat handcuffed on a curb in the city. Zawisky stressed that the even greater crime was that Luckenbaugh lied on arrest documents, causing Siennick to be unjustly jailed for 14 days.



"This case is not about a kick. It's about a lie," Zawisky said. That lie "results in distrust of law enforcement in general," he added. "That destroys the criminal justice system. Courts rely on honesty to work."



Investigators said Luckenbaugh and his partner, Trooper Michael Trotta, confronted Siennick after he flashed his middle finger at them. The kick was filmed by the dash cam of their police cruiser. That video was shown repeatedly to the jury that convicted Luckenbaugh in February.

Defense attorney Ed Spreha pleaded for a probation sentence. He urged Evans not to harshly punish a "good man" for one bad reaction.



"This is definitely something that does not reflect who he is," he said of Luckenbaugh. "It's a moment that should not define the rest of his life...Unfortunately, it's going to define his career. His career as a state trooper is over."



"We don't live in an eye-for-an-eye society," Spreha added. "He has to move on. He has already paid a price."



Siennick passed when Evans gave him an opportunity to speak.



Luckenbaugh struggled as he spoke to the judge. At times, the Mechanicsburg man stopped talking completely to wrestle with his emotions.



He told Evans that his conviction and a related lawsuit have driven his family to the brink of bankruptcy. He said he's been working as a dishwasher and is glad to have the job, although he loved being a trooper.



Luckenbaugh issued a "very sincere, heartfelt" apology to Siennick "for failing to serve him in a respectful, dignified manner."



The ex-trooper sought mercy on behalf of his wife and three children, saying a prison sentence would unfairly punish them as well. The tough times after his arrest have prompted him to reinvigorate his family relationships and his Christian faith, he said. Luckenbaugh insisted he is no longer the man who delivered that kick.



"I stand here as a much more humble, simple man," he said. "I acknowledge my faults and failures."



Evans told Luckenbaugh he sympathizes with the plight of his family, "but I didn't put them here today."



The judge lamented the "rippling effect" of cases like Luckenbaugh's that he said have increasingly undermined the public's faith in law enforcement.



And he asked Zawisky to pass on his praise to the Harrisburg police officers who brought Luckenbaugh's misconduct to light and testified for the prosecution during his trial.



"Please take back to the Harrisburg Police Department not only my thanks, but my acknowledgement that the position they took in this case is commendable," the judge said. "That took a great deal of fortitude."