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DA to Review Dean Case
May 25, 2001
Contact:
Lynn Kimbrough, 720-913-9025
On May 24, 2001, the Denver Police Department issued a press release
concerning the May 10, 2001, incident at 6535 East Bethany Place involving
Mr. Doug Dean. The press release addressed issues related to their initial
decision at the time of the incident concerning probable cause and arrest
based on the facts known to the officers at that time. Denver District
Attorney Bill Ritter, Jr. released the following statement today:
"The Denver District Attorney’s Office has not been involved in
this matter to this point. When the Denver Police Department has completed
its investigation of the matter, the investigation will be presented to my
office for a review and legal analysis of whether any criminal charges are
fileable and provable as a result of the conduct involved. This decision
is independent of and different from a decision to arrest or not arrest at
the time of the questioned conduct. That decision is generally made at the
scene, often based on less than a totality of the facts, applying a
different legal level of proof, and is a decision that is made by the
officers prior to the benefit of the full investigation that follows.
Our case-filing decision will be based, as in all other cases we
handle, on the totality of the facts and circumstances as they exist at
the completion of the full investigation. The decision is reached by
applying our case-filing standard to the facts and the law. In order to
file a criminal charge there must be a reasonable likelihood of
conviction, beyond a reasonable doubt, to a jury of twelve, unanimously,
after considering reasonable defenses.
*The filing of a criminal charge is merely
a formal accusation that an individual(s) committed a crime(s)
under Colorado laws. A defendant is presumed innocent until
and unless proven guilty. See Colo. RPC 3.6
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