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DA won't use DUI officer's testimony

Chambers' office calls evidence, force into question

Ivan Moreno, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 21, 2007 at midnight

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District Attorney Carol Chambers wants to curb an Elbert County sheriff's sergeant who has made more than 40 drunken-driving arrests.

Chambers will not use the testimony of Sgt. Donald Heald to prosecute cases, a decision her office said is based on allegations that he fabricates evidence and uses excessive force, even though an internal-affairs investigation absolved him of those charges this month.

Elbert County Sheriff William Frangis credited Heald on Tuesday with giving the department a substantial boost in DUI arrests during the 18 months since he joined the department.

Heald was put on administrative leave Jan. 16, but Frangis told the Elbert County News that he put the sergeant back on patrol this month even if he can't testify.

"I think the decision to keep an officer on the road has to be my decision and not another elected official's," Frangis said.

The incident marks the second time in two years that Chambers has questioned an officer's credibility and decided to not accept his testimony.

"In my experience, that's pretty uncommon," said Bob Grant, former Adams County district attorney.

Chambers, whose 18th Judicial District includes Elbert County, was not available for comment, but Assistant District Attorney Leslie Hansen said the complaints against the 33-year-old sergeant are not based on rumor.

"We don't take these type of allegations lightly, because we know that it's going to have implications on a man's career," she said.

Heald said he has arrested 42 drunken drivers in 16 months but has yet to take the witness stand in Elbert County. He is one of only 35 people in the state certified to teach officers how to spot the signs of a driver impaired by drugs or alcohol, Heald said.

Although he called the allegations against him "disheartening," Heald said "it's not going to affect the way I do my job."

Hansen said she will reconsider using Heald as a witness if she can be convinced the "internal-affairs investigation was aggressive and very thorough."

Chambers also ordered prosecutors to avoid an officer's testimony in 2005, when she sent letters to defense attorneys suggesting that Aurora police Sgt. Brian Saupe was not a credible witness.

Chambers unsuccessfully prosecuted Saupe on charges including evidence tampering and filing false information two years ago.

Chambers said she would not prosecute cases in which Saupe was a witness.

"The ruling raises the interesting issue of whether a district attorney can force a police department to terminate an officer because of a disqualification from testifying in criminal proceedings in a particular judicial district," Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson said at the time.

Saupe is still with the Aurora police, but went from patrolling a large area of the city to supervising one officer in the DARE program.

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