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Former Chicago Police Officer Lowell Houser Gets 10 Years For 2017 Shooting That Killed Jose Nieves

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A former Chicago Police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for shooting and killing a man when he was off duty.

Lowell Houser was convicted of second-degree murder in December for the shooting that killed Jose Nieves, 38.

Prosecutors say in January of 2017, the then-58-year-old officer shot Nieves dead outside of an apartment in Chicago's Hermosa neighborhood.

Nieves was unarmed.

Houser was off-duty and on medical leave for cancer treatment at the time.

He claims he pulled the trigger in self-defense after Nieves moved as if he was reaching for a weapon while the two were arguing.

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