Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon. (Facebook.com/Yarmouth Police Department)
YARMOUTH (24/7 News Source/WBZ-AM) -- The death of Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon has sparked a call for action.
Gannon was shot and killed by a career criminal last week while serving a warrant.
The Yarmouth Police Department has created a petition calling on judges to be held accountable for releasing violence offenders on bail.
"The judicial system in this state needs an overhaul," the petition reads. "Our police officers are out putting their lives on the line daily for the safety of the people of the Commonwealth and their hard work is for not when career criminals are allowed to walk free from a courthouse."
The online petition already has more than 20,000 signatures.
The man charged with killing Gannon, Thomas Latanowich, had more than 100 prior convictions.
He is scheduled to be in court again on June 26th.
"How many known violent criminals are walking freely in public awaiting their next court date instead of sitting in a cell where they belong? 1 is too many," reads the petition.
In a Saturday morning post on the department's Facebook page, Yarmouth Police said they are not using Latanowich's name.
"We only refer to him as 125...which stands for the number of prior criminal charges he has on his Board of Probation criminal record in Massachusetts," the post read. "The Massachusetts Criminal Justice System has let us down and failed to protect our community and our Yarmouth Police Department."
A wake for Gannon is scheduled for Tuesday, with funeral services on Wednesday.
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