Feb 8, 2007 8:19 am US/Mountain
Jury Acquits Activist Accused Of Assault
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Jurors have acquitted an activist accused of assaulting a police officer at a University of Colorado regents meeting concerning embattled professor Ward Churchill.
Shareef Aleem, 38, had been charged with second-degree assault in his contact with officer Greg Barthlome on Feb. 3, 2005, after Aleem yelled out during the meeting.
The prosecution argued that Aleem attempted to grab the officer's badge and that Barthlome's elbow was injured. The defense contended the officer fell while harassing Aleem.
Adams County jurors acquitted Aleem on Monday. His first trial last year ended in a hung jury.
Churchill has come under fire for an essay in which he likened some Sept. 11 victims to an infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust. Churchill is appealing a recommendation by university officials that he be fired on allegations of research misconduct.
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