By Judi Villa
Rocky Mountain News
DENVER — John Heaney was handcuffed face down on the ground when a Denver police officer pulled his head up by the hair and then slammed his face into the pavement.
A videotape of the incident shows Heaney barely moving just before it happened.
But in police records and at court hearings, a handful of officers told a different story of a wildly combative Heaney, who they say started a brawl and then allegedly continued to physically assault officers before he was subdued.
Heaney, 57, had his two front teeth broken in the melee and was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer. He faced three years in prison, until the videotape shot by a witness changed everything.
Now, prosecutors have dismissed all charges against Heaney, and Denver police have launched an internal investigation into the officers’ conduct and whether they subsequently lied under oath.
“That tape was new evidence that had not been available to us before last week, and it provides a rather compelling reason to dismiss the charges,” said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Police wouldn’t disclose details of the investigation or how many officers are involved. Court records list six officers as witnesses.
“I just couldn’t believe it was happening in broad daylight in front of a thousand people at the busiest intersection in town,” Heaney said Tuesday. “It was like, we can do this, so we’re going to do it.”
The incident happened April 4 outside Coors Field, as thousands of fans were gathering for the Colorado Rockies’ Opening Day. Police said that Heaney was riding his bicycle recklessly in an intersection when he hit officer Michael Cordova.
Cordova was part of a vice unit working an undercover ticket-scalping operation at the ballpark. He has said that when he confronted Heaney, Heaney punched him in the face, breaking his $170 sunglasses and injuring his nose.
Heaney said that Cordova was the aggressor and that he merely reached to flick Cordova’s baseball hat because “I was scared.” Cordova said he identified himself as a police officer, but Heaney said he did not.
The video starts with Heaney on the ground. “The video doesn’t show what the police are alleging he did,” said his attorney, Lonn Heymann.
Copyright 2008 Rocky Mountain News