DENVER COPS SENTENCED TO PROBATION

DENVER (AP) Two decorated police officers who destroyed evidence from dozens
of drug cases have been sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and
80 hours of public service.

Kurt Gary Peterson, 37, and Danny Lee Alverson, 49, pleaded guilty Friday to
abuse of public records and second-degree official misconduct. Each could
have been sentenced to two years in jail and a $5,500 fine.

The two officers, partners for four years in the Denver police gang unit,
admitted they destroyed evidence from more than 80 cases involving drugs.

Their lawyer, David Bruno, told Denver County Judge Kathleen Bowers his
clients thought destroying the evidence was the best way to serve the public
because it saved time.

They could spend more time patrolling the streets rather than running back
to headquarters to book evidence that likely would never be used in court,
Bruno said.

But Bowers said the situation confirms people's worst fears about police,
that they always assume a suspect is guilty and that evidence is of
secondary importance.

Bruno said the gang officers often encountered four or five people with drug
paraphernalia or small amounts of marijuana every day in the job.

The officers would write tickets ordering the suspects into court, then
destroy the drugs and paraphernalia. They didn't want to take the 45 to 60
minutes needed to drive to headquarters and book evidence, Bruno said.