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Weld DA Asks Judge To Drop Charges Against Fort Collins Cop

Weld County: Office of District Attorney

Weld County’s District Attorney Ken Buck filed a motion Friday requesting that a judge drop all charges against Fort Collins Police Lieutenant James Broderick. Broderick is accused of lying during the trial of Timothy Masters in 1999 to secure the murder conviction.

The request to dismiss the pending seven counts of perjury along with all felony charges comes after the Colorado Supreme Court declined this week to hear an appeal by Buck to restore two additional counts of perjury previously dismissed by a trial court.

“Without the ability to pursue those charges, we simply do not believe the case could be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. As prosecutors, we have an ethical obligation to only pursue charges that have a reasonable likelihood of resulting in a conviction,” Buck said.

Police Lieutenant James Broderick was originally charged with nine counts of perjury in the investigation and wrongful conviction of Tim Masters for the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick. Masters was exonerated in 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect.

My journalism career started in college when I worked as a reporter and Weekend Edition host for WEKU-FM, an NPR member station in Richmond, KY. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.
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