James Broderick: $500K spent not convicting cop adds to $10M wasted on failed murder case
 |
| Ken Buck. |
Days later, Buck filed a motion to dismiss the entire case against Broderick, explaining in a statement:
"The two counts that were dismissed by the trial court were critical to this case. 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."How much did various agencies spend on the bungled pursuit of Broderick? A new report by 7News does the math for us, and that's a lucky thing, because there are a lot of digits involved. Broderick is now owed back pay of $234,131.36 for the two and a half years he was on leave. In addition, the amount borne by the City of Fort Collins for his defense is calculated at $256,975. The sum is just a whisper under half a million clams.
Add that to the $10 million paid to Masters and the total becomes even more eye-popping. And that doesn't include the money thrown away by pursuing and ultimately convicting an innocent man for a crime he didn't commit over a period of a decade-plus.
Galling, certainly -- but what's even more dispiriting is the fact that Hettrick's killer remains at large and unpunished more than a quarter-century after her life was cruelly ended.
Look below to see the 7News report, followed by the aforementioned motion to dismiss charges against Broderick.
More from our Follow That Story archive: "James Broderick, detective accused in Tim Masters case, no. 1 in Top 5 Police Blunders."
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
