Jul 20, 2008 7:48 pm US/Mountain
Man Accused Of Pretending To Be Greeley Mayor
Larimer DA: No Charges Against Greeley Mayor
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4/AP) ―
Greeley Mayor Ed Clark, accused of throwing a 15-year-old boy to the ground because he refused to stop riding his motorbike, will not face criminal charges, the Larimer County District Attorney's office said Friday.
District Attorney Larry R. Abrahamson said in a written statement prosecutors could not meet the burden of reasonable doubt in prosecuting the case.
"In order to prevail at trial, the People are required to prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt," Abrahamson said in the statement. "Given the facts of this case, as revealed by the investigation and applicable statutes, the People cannot meet that burden and charges are not appropriate."
Abrahamson said his office met with the boy's family before making the decision.
Larimer County investigated the case instead of Weld County because Clark worked at the DA's office there.
A judge had granted the boy's family a restraining order against Clark after the incident, telling the mayor to stay at least 100 yards away from the boy. The teenager and his family alleged Clark threw him from his motorbike and held him on the ground until police arrived.
Clark said he stopped the boy for his own safety. Police ticketed the boy for driving the motorbike without a license. His case is still pending.
"I absolutely did nothing wrong. In fact I took action to make my neighborhood safe; to make that kid safe," Clark said. "I knew we don't have a perfect criminal justice system, but we have the best in the world and I knew that the facts would speak for themselves."
Abrahamson also said no charges will be filed against the boy's mom, who was being investigated for contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allowing him to ride the motorbike.
A business owner in Greeley is now being investigated for making phone calls to the teenager's family disguised as Clark.
The teenager's family complained that the mayor's caller ID showed up on late night phone calls to family members after they got a restraining order against Clark. Now prosecutors confirm they're looking at Tom Roche, the owner of Roche constructing, for making the phone calls disguised as Clark. Radio station KFKA reported that Roche allegedly used a Web site called "Spoofcard" to change his caller ID to Clark's number and may have also used the Web site to disguise his voice for the calls.
Roche ran for mayor and lost in 2006.
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