The Massachusetts Appeals Court today affirmed a Mattapan man’s 11 convictions for trying to kill four Boston Police officers on New Year’s Day 2003, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury in 2005 convicted JERMAINE JABBAR BERRY (D.O.B. 5/7/82) of four counts of assault with intent to kill, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and gun and ammunition offenses. He is currently serving an aggregate term of 31 to 43 years in state prison for pointing a .357 caliber revolver at a friend of his mother’s inside his house, then firing at four Boston Police officers, hitting two of them, when they responded to the residence at about 5:30 a.m.

“This decision keeps an incredibly dangerous man off the streets of Boston” Conley said. “The trial was fair and every one of these convictions was supported by the evidence.”

Prosecutors had recommended a total of 40 to 50 years in prison.

Among other things, Berry claimed that his trial attorney was ineffective and that the trial prosecutor’s cross-examination of certain defense witnesses was improper. In a four-page, unpublished opinion released today, the Appeals Court rejected all of his arguments.

“There is no evidence before the court to suggest that counsel’s decision to pursue a mental impairment defense … was something other than a considered strategic or tactical decision,” the court wrote. “It is not manifestly unreasonable for an attorney to pursue a trial strategy that aims to reduce the most serious charges against his client, while avoiding an insanity defense that he reasonably may deem unsupported by the evidence.”

Berry’s claim of improper questioning by the trial prosecutor also failed.

“The defendant has not identified a question by the prosecutor that was not, as required, ‘based on the facts in evidence,’” the court wrote. “The prosecutor inquired whether [a defense expert witness] knew about specific incidents of the defendant’s conduct around the time of the shootings, and whether the incidents were consistent with [the witness’] expert opinion of the defendant’s ability to form the requisite intent …. We therefore conclude that the prosecutor’s cross-examination … was proper.”

Assistant District Attorney Teresa Anderson defended the convictions before the Appeals Court. Former Suffolk prosecutor David Meier prosecuted the case at trial. Berry was represented on appeal by attorney Robert Shaw.