COPS ADMIT 'POOR DECISION' IN DESTROYING EVIDENCE

August 26, 2000 - Two decorated Denver police officers on Friday admitted
to poor judgment in destroying evidence from more than 80 drug cases.

Kurt Gary Peterson, 37, and Danny Lee Alverson, 49 - four-year partners in
the gang unit - pleaded guilty to abuse of public records and second-degree
official misconduct.

Their lawyer, David Bruno, told county court Judge Kathleen Bowers his
clients thought destroying the evidence was the best way to serve the public.

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 of the
police," that they always assume a suspect is guilty and that evidence is
of secondary importance.

She sentenced Peterson and Alverson to one year of unsupervised probation
and 80 hours of public service. They could have received a maximum sentence
of two years in jail and a $5,500 fine.

Bowers told the officers she wants them to address high school students
about the Constitution, the concepts of burden of proof, witness
credibility and "how you keep the government from getting out of control."

Bruno said the gang officers often encountered four or five people daily
with drug paraphernalia or small amounts of marijuana.

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

"They have admitted their faults and wrongdoings," Bruno said. "They made a
poor decision. They came to that decision on the basis of the fact that in
their years of experience they have never seen one of these cases go to trial.

"In the vast, vast majority of these cases, the defendant pleads guilty to
the offense and is fined and these officers are never taken off the street"
to testify.

"If they followed the procedure - which they should have done - of driving
downtown every day, it would have taken them out of service for
approximately five of their eight hours every day," Bruno said.

Prosecutor Diane Balkin argued for the light sentences.

"To their credit, they both came forward and were very forthright about
what they had done," Balkin said.

The public records charge is a misdemeanor and the official misconduct
charge a petty offense.

The officers remain on duty but have been transferred from the gang unit.
Internal administrative proceedings are pending.

Bruno said Alverson, a 28-year police veteran, has received the
department's Distinguished Service Cross, three merit awards and multiple
community service awards.

He said Peterson, an officer for 13 years, received the department's Medal
of Valor, Distinguished Service Award and merit awards.

Bruno said the two officers compared their situation to police who find
people drinking in a park, write a ticket and then empty the liquor bottle.

Balkin said the officers never converted the drugs for "their own use or
any other use." "They clearly destroyed it, threw it down the drain,"
Balkin said.

The problem was discovered after city prosecutors learned no evidence
existed to support charges in some drug cases. Five drug prosecutions had
to be dismissed.