The absence of premeditation or planning does not necessarily take the murder of a police officer out of the worst category warranting a life sentence, but it is a relevant factor that may, in combination with other mitigating factors, support a determinate sentence. The element of surprise in a pre-emptive strike does not constitute a significant additional aggravating factor where the victim being a police officer already attracts substantial aggravating weight. A sentencing judge's careful balancing of all relevant factors in declining to impose a life sentence will not be disturbed on appeal.
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