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Facing leash-law ticket, assistant city attorney accused of flashing her badge

Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 1, 2007 at midnight

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The Denver City Attorney's Office is being dogged by another alleged impropriety.

A day after City Attorney Larry Manzanares resigned, an assistant city attorney was accused of trying to use her position to avoid animal control violations.

Dani Eliscu allegedly flashed her badge and told an animal control officer where she worked, after being caught with two unleashed dogs at Congress Park on Feb. 10.

"I can't believe you are going to go through with this," Eliscu is quoted as saying. "We are all on the same side. You're sure you can't give me a break?"

Doug Kelley, director of the city's Division of Animal Control, said "the implication was that the summons should not be served because she was a city attorney."

CBS 4 News reporter Brian Maass broke the story.

Eliscu, 29, who has worked for the city just over a year, did not return a call for comment. She works in the city's Prosecution and Code Enforcement Section, which prosecutes animal control violations, though she handles other types of cases.

Vince DiCroce, the prosecution section director, said that Eliscu received a written reprimand for the incident.

According to animal control reports: Officer R. Mouton was patrolling Congress Park about 1 p.m. when he saw Eliscu with two large dogs about 50 feet away from her. Eliscu told Mouton that only one of the dogs was tagged.

When Mouton asked for her ID, Eliscu retrieved a badge.

"She flashed it at me and said she was with the city attorney's office. I advised her I still needed to see tags and an ID," the officer wrote in his report.

About the same time, a man who refused to identify himself but also claimed to be an attorney told Mouton that he had given Eliscu permission to let the dogs run free.

"I advised them he could not give someone permission to break the law," Mouton said. When Eliscu and the man "would not assist in my investigation," Mouton said he called police.

Eliscu was ticketed for violating Denver's leash law and for failing to vaccinate and license the dogs.