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Nassau County PBA Fights Parole In '75 Killing Of Police Officer

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police union officials, prosecutors, friends and colleagues of a slain Nassau County police officer are again rallying to oppose parole for the killer.

The Nassau County Patrolman's Benevolent Association is urging the state parole board to keep John MacKenzie behind bars. The parole hearing is June 12.

MacKenzie was convicted in the 1975 shooting death of Nassau County Police Officer Matthew Giglio. He's making his seventh attempt at parole since 2000.

PBA officials, prosecutors and others say although MacKenzie has served nearly 36 years of a 25-to-life sentence, he should never be released from prison.

"When you commit a crime against a police officer and you kill a police officer, that's a crime against society too," Nassau County PBA President James Carver told 1010 WINS. "Someone like this should not be allowed to see the light of day ever again."

Giglio was investigating a store burglary in West Hempstead in 1975 when MacKenzie exited the store and fired a single shot into Giglio's chest.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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