DPD Officer Disciplined In Process Server Case

DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver police officer has been disciplined for discourtesy and "conduct prejudicial" to the department for the way he treated a Denver process server last summer.

The process server, Richard Bellizzi, believed he was a crime victim, but ended up being arrested and jailed for 24 hours following his interaction with Officer Ron Jensen.

According to an internal police investigation of the incident obtained by CBS4, Jensen lost four days pay for his conduct in the June 24 incident and was issued a written reprimand for discourtesy. The Denver District Attorneys Office ultimately dropped all charges against Bellizzi.

Bellizzi was trying to serve divorce papers on Dr. Oksana Bantley, an area anesthesiologist last June. Bellizzi says Bantley had avoided another process server and appeared to be trying to avoid him. He spotted her driving a friends car. Bellizzi followed her and when she got caught in traffic on Colorado Boulevard, Bellizzi jumped out of his car and approached Bantley's car. He held the divorce papers in one hand, and a camera in the other hand which recorded what happened next.

The videotape shows Bantley behind the wheel of her car. As Bellizzi stands near the front of her car, he can be heard saying, "Oksana Bantley ... Superior Court ..." Bantley shields her face with her hands. But before Bellizzi finishes speaking, she can be seen apparently turning the wheel of her car toward Bellizzi and the car accelerates. The video shows Bellizzi on the hood of the speeding car for a few seconds before the tape cuts off.

Bantley would later say she was frightened and thought she was being attacked.

"She turned the wheel and gunned the engine," said Bellizzi, "Effectively cutting my legs out and forcing me on to the hood of the car."

Bellizzi says he hung on for about 260 feet at an estimated 30 to 40 miles an hour before he says Bantley turned sharply, ejecting him from the hood of the car.

"This is not going to end well," Bellizzi remembers thinking as he held on to one of the car's windshield wipers. The incident left him with a broken left ankle and deep bruises and cuts. He hobbled back to his car and drove to the Denver Police Department's District 3 station to report what happened.

"I fully expected to sign a complaint and go to St. Joseph's Hospital and have my injuries attended to."

But Bellizzi says he was immediately met with sarcasm, hostility and aggression by Officer Ron Jensen at the front desk. Frustrated by the officer's attitude, Bellizzi asked to speak to a sergeant. He provided Denver police with his videotape of what happened and information on how to track down Bantley, which police did, summoning her to the District 3 station. After several hours, he says Jensen handcuffed him and told him he was being arrested for harassment and criminal mischief.

"I knew I was in the right and not guilty of what they were saying. I knew I was a victim," said Bellizzi, "and I don't often feel I am a victim."

Bellizzi was transported by ambulance to Denver Health Medical Center for treatment then on to the Denver Jail. He was released 24 hours later.

Five months later, the Denver District Attorney's Office dismissed the case against Bellizzi, saying the facts did not support the charge.

The police department's internal probe is now complete and they found fault with Jensen's handling of the case. The internal affairs investigation says Jensen showed "indifference and bad attitude" toward Bellizzi.

Officer Jen Jaidinger, who witnessed Jensen's treatment of Bellizzi last June, told investigators "that Officer Jensen further agitated him (Bellizzi) by his demeanor stating Officer Jensen appeared to be slightly annoyed and sarcastic towards Bellizzi." She said Jensen "was upset with Bellizzi for requesting a sergeant." Officer Jaidinger reported that when Bellizzi was ultimately arrested, "Officer Jensen was happy with the decision stating justice would be served."

A DPD Sergeant involved in the case wrote that, "My concern was that a citizen was injured and responded to the station to file a report and was met with a police officer who disparaged his story and belittled the event. He (Jensen) chose to involve other officers, seek additional advice and input, and move the investigation in a direction that resulted in the original victim going to jail," wrote the Sergeant.

In his internal affairs statements, Jensen said he did not believe he was rude or condescending to Bellizzi. But Jensen immediately accepted the discipline on March 11 and elected not to appeal. He has been with the Denver Police Department since 2001 and has received two previous reprimands and four commendations.