By Carlos Miller
The crack of John Heaney’s teeth smashing against the sidewalk courtesy of the Denver Police Department sounds like the crack of a bat at a baseball game.
Only this took place outside the baseball stadium at Coor’s Field last year.
And this left Heaney facing a minimum three years in prison for second degree assault on a police officer.
But because a news videographer happened to film the incident, one of the arresting officers is now facing prison time.
Today KUSA-TV announced that Heaney has filed a lawsuit against the arresting officers as well as the other officers at the scene who allowed the beating to happen.
The video shows officers repeatedly hitting and kicking Heaney near Coors Field. Once Heaney was lying on his stomach with his hands held behind his back, the video shows an officer, later identified as Michael Cordova, lift Heaney’s head and smash his face into the ground. Heaney claims the act broke his two front teeth. The cracking teeth can be heard on the tape.
The lawsuit alleges that the officers made false statements about what happened during the arrest because they did not know it was caught on video. The suit also alleges the police made false statements in court about the arrest and did not properly investigate the case.
On April 4, 2008, Heaney was riding his bicycle past the stadium and allegedly ran a red light. The officers, who were in plainclothes because they were working a sting operation against ticket scalpers, yelled at the 57-year-old man to stop.
Police claimed he swung at them first.
Heaney claims police attacked him first.
Naturally, everybody in the legal arena believed the cop’s version of the story.
That is, until the video surfaced.
Before the videotape surfaced, Cordova testified in a court case under oath that Heaney swung and punched at him several times, forcing Cordova to punch back.
Cordova said Heaney “continued to throw wild punches at me, hitting me in the chest area several times forcing me to punch him in the face several times,” according to court records and a Denver Police statement.
When he was asked how Heaney’s two front teeth were broken, Cordova responded, “I have not a clue.”
Once the video surfaced, the Denver District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against Heaney and filed second degree assault charges against Michael Cordova, the officer who is accused of smashing Heaney’s teeth into the sidewalk.
Last month, Cordova pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault.
Popularity: 1% [?]
25 responses so far ↓
1 chris // Apr 7, 2009 at 2:58 PM
wow, talk about horrible cops, why is only one of the crooked cops getting charged and why not charged w/ purgory?
2 Carlos Miller // Apr 7, 2009 at 3:29 PM
I notice the video starts automatically each time you log on to my site, which can get annoying once you have seen the video.
Does anyone know how I can make it so it will only run when people click on play?
3 B // Apr 7, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Disgusting. It’s Abu Ghraib in Phoenix.
Thank you, Carlos, for your fearless work.
4 Gabriel Ruzin // Apr 7, 2009 at 3:58 PM
Thanks for bringing this to your readers’ attention so quickly, Carlos. Yet another example of crooked cops being outed for the criminals they are because of the lucky happenstance of a nearby camera. You’re doing a great thing here. Keep up the good work.
5 Karl Mansoor // Apr 7, 2009 at 4:21 PM
The police mentality of Us vs. Them is still too strong, widespread, and often misplaced.
All this over some guy on a bike who allegedly rode through a red light?
The plain clothes officers must not have been too concerned about their undercover assignment if they were willing to blow it under those circumstances.
6 KC // Apr 7, 2009 at 4:45 PM
And this is precisely why the police do not like us in public with devices that can capture their behavior…
Sadly, this is not limited to the United States, please take a moment to vie this video, taken by a member of the British public during the recent G20 protests in England:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2009/apr/07/g20-police-assault-video
Note: Firefox users: the Guardian’s website is not cross browser compliant so either use your I.E. tab plug-in, an equivalent or just Internet Explorer itself to watch the unprovoked brutality that led to a man’s death.
7 Simon Jester // Apr 7, 2009 at 5:14 PM
What gets me though, is why people did nothing about it. At what point did the uniformed officers show up and why did no one intercede with the others beating the man?
Even if they were uniformed officers were in it from the beginning, how much violence do you need to see before you say “this is wrong” and step up to the plate?
8 Andrew DeFilippis // Apr 7, 2009 at 5:24 PM
you’ll have to link it for it not to play automatically, at least for now..
9 Josh Zytkiewicz // Apr 7, 2009 at 5:31 PM
This is why I think police need to carry cameras as part of their uniform. They’re public servants everything they do need to be open to reveiw. It would protect the public from people like Mr. Cordova and protect the offices from false claims.
The link below is from the city next to mine.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/mar/08/smile-youre-police-camera/
10 ALL BE DAMNED // Apr 7, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Wow and i used to want to move to denver for the Games but not now
Good luck and god speed to this man and KUDOS TO THE VIDEO CREW
11 Eric Ogunbase // Apr 7, 2009 at 9:32 PM
How much more will we the people take? If these were bloods, crips or latin kings assaulting our citizens, we’d have a lynch mob in place. But because these guys wear blue and have some shiny tin, we take it. Some of these cops need to see justice in the same manner in which they’re so eager to dole it out.
12 Hazy // Apr 7, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Bunch of cock suckers! Somebody should break their teeth and then throw those cops in jail so they can receive prison justice at the hand of a big black guy.
13 jones // Apr 8, 2009 at 12:08 AM
So this guy runs a red light, gets into an argument with the officers and then admittedly knocks the hat off of one of the officers yet claims he didn’t throw the first punch. One witness claims the guy never took “any kind of swings” at the officers yet the guy admits to knocking one of their hats off, I would certainly call that some type of swing. The pushing his head into the ground was unnecessary and I do have a problem with that but up until that point I didn’t see anything out of line. It would be nice if the news just let the video roll so you could see the whole thing and not just parts of it.
I tried looking up this officer to see if he has been in any kind of trouble before and this is all I found.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has announced the selection of Officer Michael Cordova and Officer Patrick Bouhana of the Denver Police Department as its Officer of the Month for May 2005.
Sergeant Richard Seeley, of the Denver Police Department, describes Officer Michael Cordova as an officer who “has developed an incredible knack for being in the right place at the right time”, and Officer Patrick Bouhana as an officer who “can be relied upon to cover any officer, anytime, anywhere.’ In the case of a house fire that occurred earlier this year, one family is thankful that these two officers lived up to their reputation.
On March 4th, 2005, while on patrol, Officer Michael Cordova noticed smoke and flames spewing from a nearby home. After radioing for assistance and back-up, he raced toward the building where he encountered a man who had just exited the inferno. The man was quite distraught and screamed that his aunt and uncle were trapped in the basement. Relaying this new information to dispatch, Officer Cordova entered the burning structure, ignoring the flames and heavy smoke. Officer Cordova found an elderly gentleman struggling to carry his unconscious wife, who was confined to a wheelchair, out of the basement. Officer Cordova lifted the woman from around her waist and had her husband support her legs and feet. Officer Patrick Bouhana arrived just as Officer Cordova learned from the elderly man that there were two other nephews still inside.
Entering the house, Officer Cordova headed for the kitchen while Officer Bouhana went to the northwest corner of the home. Smoke from the fire had become very thick making it almost impossible to see; and time was running out. Officer Bouhana finally reached the northwest corner bedroom locating the two young men. Shaken and confused, the nephews could not confirm that there were no other people in the house.
With the two men safely out of the house, Officers Bouhana and Cordova attempted to re-enter the building one final time. Within minutes the structure was completely engulfed in flames and they were forced to exit just as the fire department and emergency medical personnel arrived. As the firefighters fought the blaze, Officers Bouhana and Cordova attended to the elderly couple and their nephews until the family could be transported to the hospital. Only then would the officers agree to be treated for the smoke inhalation and other injuries they had sustained. Seriously high levels of carbon monoxide were found in the officer’s systems.
When the fire investigation was completed, the officers discovered just how treacherous the fire had been and how close they had come to not have survived its hidden dangers. Although the fire was not arson related and no other individuals were found in the home, the investigation determined that due to the location and burning patterns of the fire, what’s known as “flashover phenomena” had occurred. In such fires temperatures reach 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, and at that temperature, fire does not burn combustible material, it consumes it. The report concluded that had the officers not gotten the family out when they did, all would have certainly perished.
For their extraordinary bravery, Officer Michael Cordova and Officer Patrick Bouhana were awarded the Denver Police Department’s Medal of Honor, the highest award given only to officers who display an act of courage that clearly distinguishes gallantry beyond the call of duty. Without their courage, determination and selflessness, one family would not be alive today. However, for Officers Cordova and Bouhana, it was just another day performing a job they love.
14 Carlos Miller // Apr 8, 2009 at 12:16 AM
Jones,
How do we know this guy even knew they were cops?
If he did know they were cops, then knocking his cap off would be a stupid thing to do.
But if he thought these guys were just being assholes, then it’s different.
Even then, all it merited was to handcuff the guy and take him to jail. Simple as that.
But Cordova was lying through his teeth, so to speak, when he said he had no clue how Heaney lost his front teeth.
And numerous witnesses contradicted police reports and the witnesses interviewed were not his friends nor did not strike me as your typical anti-authority hoodlums.
It’s too bad Cordova couldn’t control his temper because this incident will forever blemish that award he won.
Hopefully other cops will think twice when put in a situation like that.
15 jones // Apr 8, 2009 at 12:25 AM
This guy’s own version contradicts one of his own witnesses. I don’t agree with the pushing of the head onto the cement. I think this guy was the aggressor and escalated this into a physical confrontation. Knocking somebody’s hat is an assault and will get you punched in the mouth. It appears Cordova lost his cool and was wrong but without seeing the whole tape and the entire incident it’s still hard to know exactly what was going on. I don’t think Cordova should go to prison over this or even jail.
16 diomedesxx // Apr 8, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Cordova shouldn’t go to prison or jail? He assaulted a person. He perjured himself. If anyone else had done it, the response would be “he got what he deserved”, but if its a cop, its okay? Why?
I wonder if people realized that most freaking animals who have far less “developed” minds don’t sink to this level of stupidity. Someone knocked of my hat? Big deal, I’ll pick it up. If they start wailing on me for no apparent reason, I’ll laugh in their face at their own stupidity. When are people going to learn not to lower their standards; then again, if those officers had standards, it wouldn’t happen to begin with.
17 Marco Perez // Apr 8, 2009 at 4:03 PM
Hold those that maintain the law and have authority in it to a higher standard of judgment. Otherwise what is the deterrent for violating that which you protect? Police have a lot more opportunity to get away with stuff, part of the perks i guess. But if they’re caught then may the judgment be accurate and swift.
Jones, cops lying under OATH is prison worthy, regardless of the circumstances of the felony case. A man was about to go to prison for 3 years(!) and Officer Cordova showed no concern. Police with little or no virtue are always trouble, in any society.
Carlos, do we know if the police ever identified themselves before the confrontation?
18 Carlos Miller // Apr 8, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Marco,
The victim said the cops didn’t identify themselves until after they had him down on the ground and were beating him.
I haven’t heard what the cops said about that, but in this case, I wouldn’t believe them anyway.
19 Bob Robertson // Apr 8, 2009 at 5:08 PM
The problem being that “we” have granted government a complete monopoly on the prosecution of crime. They decide what is and is not a crime, and how to deal with it.
Agents of the government cannot, by definition, commit a crime unless their bosses do not like what happened. Getting caught is the only way they get into trouble.
Perjury, falsifying evidence, theft and the commission of what non-police get punished for doing is perfectly normal. It happens every day, everywhere.
It used to be that someone would have to press charges against another, presenting evidence of damage done, before there would be prosecution for a “crime”.
No longer. Victimless statute crimes have created an environment where police get to go out looking for things to prosecute, and the assumption that anything the cop gets into has to have been the fault of a crook.
It is very much “us vs. them”, with everyone who is not a cop being a criminal who simply hasn’t been caught yet.
Keep those video cameras rolling, folks. And remember to vote NO on all tax hikes.
20 the lone white boy // Apr 8, 2009 at 5:12 PM
good for the DA!
, usually the DA just sweeps it under the rug fearing a polictical backlash from the police unions. This one actually filed charges against the police officer!
21 Ben C // Apr 8, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Why don’t they charge Cordova with perjury? They did it to the President of the United States (Clinton), so why not charge this crooked cop from Denver. It would be a shame not to; he lied under oath and now that they caught him, they just let him get away with it?
22 freelance freebird // Apr 9, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Yes that is a huge step forward and a lot out of character! LE claim they are held to a higher standard, but in reality they use it as spin when things are not facing them square on!
First sign of misconduct and it’s like a feeding frenzy to COA (cover our ass).
I really don’t believe the courts use their power to hold someone on perjury charges – years ago if you were caught in a lie you spent some quality time at the cross bar hotel. Cops do it with impunity now and it’s so widely done they have a term for it [IE: testilie].
It’s not by accident they do it and have no fear of being held accountable, the court system needs to be taken back from them and given back to the people!
23 Hazy // Apr 9, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Jones, please get the fuck out of this site. Nobody wants you here playing devil’s advocate on stories of obvious corruption, douche bag.
24 jones // Apr 9, 2009 at 4:23 PM
I love you to
25 Karl Mansoor // Apr 9, 2009 at 5:46 PM
See Jones! You CAN do it!
Always try to defuse the situation first. Put a 100% into it, really mean it, and avoid a sarcastic tone.
Many use of force incidents occur because police initially came on too strong and did not constantly look for opportunities to de-escalate – and I don’t mean by slowing down baton strikes.
Leave a Comment