posted on March 11, 2003 04:20:21 PM new
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- The district attorney dropped all charges against Police Chief Earl Sanders and his top aide today, saying he couldn't prove they helped orchestrate a cover-up of a street brawl involving off-duty officers.
District Attorney Terence Hallinan said that "in the interest of justice," after reviewing 1,300 pages of evidence, he was dropping obstruction of justice charges against Sanders and Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr.
Hallinan said he would still prosecute other top officers in the case that has rocked the department and the city,
Five other commanders still face obstruction charges, and three rookie officers have been charged with felony assault for allegedly attacking two men Nov. 20 over their bag of steak fajitas.
All the officers have pleaded innocent. One of those charged with assault is Alex Fagan Jr., the assistant chief's son.
For days, Hallinan waffled over whether to go after Sanders -- who's currently on medical leave for high blood pressure -- and his top aides.
Behind closed doors, he told the grand jury there wasn't enough evidence to indict the commanders. But when the indictments were made public, Hallinan insisted he could prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt and said he was "ready to go to trial anytime."
Today, he said neither Sanders nor Fagan would face trial.
posted on March 11, 2003 07:19:22 PM new
The problem is proving conspiracy. Chief Sanders and Assistant Chief Fagan pulled the investigator off the case when he started asking tough questions. They claim it was just normal prodecure to rotate investigators. Proving conspiracy to obstruct justice would be difficult. And Sanders has got less than a year to go before retirement anyway.
