RSSState Patrol apologizes to Palisade man after court dismisses charges
Palisade business owner James Fletcher shows some of the paperwork from his encounter with former Colorado State Patrol trooper Don Moseman. Fletcher had his ticket dismissed and received a written apology from the State Patrol.
On Sundays, James Fletcher of Palisade regularly may have passed Don Moseman in the hallways of Canyon View Vineyard Church in Grand Junction.
On a Saturday in June, Fletcher believes he illegally was arrested by Moseman.
Fletcher said he thought he wasn’t angry anymore at Moseman, the now-former Colorado State Patrol trooper at the heart of a massive probe that is questioning the integrity of years of drunken-driving prosecutions in Mesa County.
“I had to give that anger back to God ... I believe in that Bible verse that says ‘vengeance is mine,’ ” said Fletcher, 51, owner of Jay Max Sales, a mining and drilling-industry parts business.
“I had a peace about things, but last night I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “It still kind of bugged me that it all happened.”
In a letter dated Dec. 1, Moseman’s last day with the State Patrol after a career that spanned two decades, State Patrol Maj. Barry Bratt wrote to Fletcher.
“An extensive investigation has been conducted into your concerns surrounding your arrest on June 25, 2011,” Bratt wrote in the letter. “It is my finding that mistakes were made in this investigation. I apologize to you on behalf of the agency that the trooper did not uphold the high expectations of the Colorado State Patrol. Please be assured that this incident will be handled in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the State Personnel System to ensure it does not happen again.”
‘COST YOU A LOT OF MONEY’
Fletcher said he was driving home on U.S. Highway 6, just after 9 p.m. June 25 after a day at Country Jam USA, when he saw the flashing police lights behind him near Fruita.
Fletcher pulled over, and a state trooper explained he had stopped Fletcher for speeding 41 mph in a stretch marked for 35 mph, according to Fletcher.
“I just kind of looked at him like, ‘Yeah, right,’ ” Fletcher said.
The trooper was Moseman, who later wrote in a report he observed the vehicle make a turn without using a signal.
The trooper said he smelled alcohol inside the vehicle. Fletcher countered he’d had a glass of wine about three hours prior, while his wife, Tammy, a passenger, had about two drinks.
“I’m not impaired if that’s your question,” Fletcher said he responded.
Fletcher said he was put through a series of roadside sobriety tests by Moseman, which ended with a request that Fletcher complete a portable breath test.
Moseman’s report said Fletcher “failed” roadside tests.
“He then gave me a voluntary sample of his breath into the PBT which had a result of .000,” Moseman’s report reads. “Based on the driving and roadside tests, it is my opinion he was impaired by something other than alcohol.”
After he and his wife “blew zeros” on the breath test, Fletcher said he was floored by Moseman’s questions.
“I’m going to have to tell you it looks like you’ve been doing cannabis,” Fletcher said he was told.
“Obviously his intention was to try and find something that was really out there that couldn’t be proved unless there was a blood test,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said he was handcuffed, placed in the back of a patrol car and was asked if he’d agree to go back to Country Jam, where law enforcement was equipped to draw blood samples for testing.
“He said, ‘If you don’t do this, it’s going to cost you a lot of money’ ... He mentioned a dollar amount, but I can’t remember what it was,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher was issued a summons on suspicion of driving while ability impaired by drugs as a first offense, and speeding.
“I’m stunned by all this, you know ... Then he says, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve got one more test. I need you to run in place for 10 minutes, and we’re going to do another blood test.’ “
The trooper eventually acknowledged he was joking, Fletcher said.
“I understand you’ve got to joke and everything, but this isn’t a very funny situation,” Fletcher says now.
Fletcher, a board director for the Palisade Chamber of Commerce, said the night altered the rest of his year.
“I was totally shocked,” he said. “If I’m convicted, I lose my pilot’s license, my business is in jeopardy along with my driver’s license. It’s just an outrageous thing to have happen to you.”
Out of pocket costs totalled about $1,500 to retain an attorney and pay for his own private blood test at St. Mary’s Hospital, which he completed the next day, Fletcher said.
NO POT, ALCOHOL
The results of the blood test from the encounter with Moseman were outlined in the Mesa County District Attorney’s motion to dismiss charges.
“No reasonable likelihood of conviction because of no active THC & no alcohol in blood result,” a prosecutor wrote in court records.
Fletcher said he was interviewed by the State Patrol’s Internal Affairs unit before receiving Bratt’s and the State Patrol’s letter of apology.
“How many other people has he (Moseman) done this to?” Fletcher said. “How many people are incarcerated over this?”
His take on the trooper?
“It was hard to get a read on the guy. Complex, I guess,” he said. “He had a poker face ... he was searching for some way to pin me, but he wasn’t giving out his hand.”
Multiple attempts by The Daily Sentinel to reach Moseman for comment, including a visit Friday to the former trooper’s home, have been unsuccessful.
The State Patrol has said an internal investigation showed Moseman displayed a bias against drivers who may have consumed alcohol or drugs prior to driving.
The investigation found Moseman submitted reports that were a combination of reports “from prior arrests and the current arrest, resulting in reports which contained wrong or conflicting information.”
The State Patrol and the District Attorney’s Office declined to elaborate.
As of Friday, prosecutors had dismissed eight drunken-driving cases in which Moseman was the DA’s sole witness, and reviews of hundreds of cases are still to come.
Fletcher said he hasn’t decided whether he will bring a civil lawsuit against Moseman or the State Patrol. They may run across each other, he said.
“He said he went to Canyon View (Church),” Fletcher said, recalling a conversation before the blood test as the trooper loosened the handcuffs.
“He said, ‘I know where you go to church, so I don’t think you’re going to run away from me.’”
COMMENTS
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.