AURORAN RILED AT COPS OVER DRUG SEARCH

AURORA - Living next door to a reputed crack dealer, John Henderson found
himself caught between his neighbor and the police.

City officers executed a search warrant last April, seeking the neighbor's
crack cocaine. They instead searched Henderson's apartment, which was
identified by a confidential informant, and found less than an ounce of
marijuana in the butter dish of his refrigerator.

Henderson, 70, a great-grandfather with diabetes and a heart condition,
said he kept the pot "for the ladies."

"In the fridge, all I had was booze I don't drink and marijuana I don't
smoke," said Henderson. "They made a mistake coming in here like that."

The search was the start of a difficult 11 months for Henderson. He was
charged with drug possession but was later acquitted, prompting an appeal
by the city.

The incident was humiliating and aggravated his health problems, he said.
So Henderson filed notice that he intends to sue the city, a decision he
says led to malicious prosecution by Aurora.

The April 4 search was intended to find crack that his neighbor was
selling, officials admit. Narcotics officers, using a confidential
informant, spotted the neighbor coming out of Henderson's apartment just
off South Havana Street. Believing there was crack inside, they got a
search warrant.

Henderson answered the door and was handcuffed and pushed against a wall. A
search of his apartment with a drug-sniffing dog turned up a few cigarette
rolling papers in his bedroom.

When questioned, Henderson told police about the small amount of marijuana
in his refrigerator. Officers confiscated it and left without charging
Henderson with a crime.

"People could knock on my door, and I'd get scared for a week," he said.

A month later, in May 2000, Henderson's attorney sent a letter to the city
asking for a $20,000 settlement over the search. Three weeks after the city
received the letter, Henderson was issued a misdemeanor summons for
marijuana possession.

He believes it was payback for his threat to sue. Aurora officials said the
ticket was not issued earlier because it would have compromised the
undercover investigation of the neighbor, who was later charged with
dealing drugs.

"We get a hundred notices of claims a month. Any suggestion that it drove
or caused police to initiate something against Mr. Henderson is wrong,"
said City Attorney Charles Richardson. "It would just never rise to a
retribution/retaliation scenario."

Yet Henderson's attorney, Michael AndreU, said the city is continuing to
harass his client.

"They are accruing damages every day I represent him," AndreU said.

In criminal court in December, Henderson was acquitted after a judge
suppressed the evidence found by police in the search.

The judge said she believed the police targeted the wrong apartment.

Aurora officials appealed that decision, seeking clarification on
search-and-seizure issues, said Deputy City Attorney George Zierk.

"We are just seeking a ruling of law in regards to this area. This will not
change his acquittal," Zierk said.

Yet Henderson sees it as the city putting him through the wringer for a
$100 pot ticket. He was one of the first African-American car salesmen in
Colorado and says the entire ordeal has hurt his pride.

His initial settlement offer has been withdrawn, and he says he'll seek
substantially greater damages when the suit is formally filed in coming weeks.

"An apology would have sufficed at first," Henderson said, "but not now."