Hmmmmm....well after reading that article, I'm convinced (or mostly convinced) that this was a situation of honest mistake. And I believe that the sentence was probably based on that.
In regards to the fact that some believe that the law has gone lightly on him because he is an officer of the law, then I would have to disagree, I don't think that's the case here.

I do know that here in Australia, if members of the police force or any such establishment are found guilty because of the evidence against them in a situation such as this, then the penalties for those individuals are usually more harsh. This of course is an Aussie view, I'm not sure how your system works in the USA.
Wom