Officer cleared in killing
Lovelace shot mom in car at Chandler drugstore
Jim Walsh and Josh Kelley
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 10, 2004 12:00 AM
Jurors refused to second-guess a former Chandler police officer, acquitting him of all charges after three days of deliberations in the on-duty shooting of an Ahwatukee Foothills woman.
Dan Lovelace, 39, the first Arizona officer to stand trial on felony charges stemming from an officer-involved shooting, was found not guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter and endangerment in the shooting of Dawn Rae Nelson.
"The message will be that it's difficult to convict a police officer," said Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Vince Imbordino. "That's just a fact. Whether that's right or wrong is a question for a different day."
Friends and supporters of Lovelace gasped in Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Keppel's jammed Mesa courtroom as the verdicts were read. An elated Lovelace kissed his wife, Trish, and his 1* year-old daughter.
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Lovelace left through a side door and refused to comment, but defense attorney Craig Mehrens said his client was going to celebrate the verdict.
"He's numb. He's so happy to know there are eight men and women who had faith in him. Sometimes, the system really does work," Mehrens said. "He now knows that he's free. He wants to spend some time with his wife and daughter."
Mehrens argued during the trial that Lovelace was just doing his job when he chased prescription drug fraud suspect Dawn Nelson, 35, and fired only to avoid getting run over by her car. Imbordino argued that Lovelace had no reason to chase Nelson and was never in the path of her car. He said police easily could have arrested her later because they had her license plate number.
Dawn Nelson's widower was disappointed by the verdict and said it was a miscarriage of justice.
"I thought it was very cowardly of them," John "Colby" Nelson said. "They just didn't do their job. What were they afraid of to convict him?"
The key question faced by jurors was whether Lovelace was reasonably in fear for his life when he shot Dawn Nelson. Lovelace testified that he feared for his life and believed the front left tire of her Camaro had already struck him when he fired.
Colby Nelson attributed Lovelace's acquittal to his historic role as the first Arizona officer to stand trial for an on-duty shooting.
The Nelsons' son, Kenneth, 14 months old at the time, was riding in a rear car seat when Lovelace shot Dawn Nelson.
"I wish I could tell him (Kenneth) that the person who killed his mother is in jail," Colby Nelson said. "There was just overwhelming evidence against him."
A motorcycle officer, Lovelace went to the Walgreens at Dobson and Warner roads on Oct. 11, 2002, to investigate a report of a prescription drug fraud in progress. Witnesses testified he chased Nelson's car on foot when she fled from a drive-through window and knocked over his motorcycle.
After Nelson made a sharp left turn, Lovelace testified that he was afraid she would run over him or crush him against a nearby building. Prosecutors said he shot her from behind, the bullet entering the rear of her left arm and ripping through her heart and lungs.
"If they (jurors) didn't believe him, they wouldn't have acquitted him," Mehrens said.
The department fired Lovelace after an internal investigation, and the city paid at least $1.9 million to the Nelson family to settle a civil lawsuit.
Lovelace's certification was never suspended because the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board was awaiting the outcome of his trial. A felony conviction would have resulted in automatic revocation of his certification.
"I would be disturbed if he's ever employed as an officer again," Imbordino said.
Lovelace faced up to 24 years in prison if con- victed.
Dave LeVoy, president of the Chandler Law Enforcement Association, said that he wasn't surprised by the verdict and always thought Lovelace would be exonerated.
"We always had faith in the judicial system," said LeVoy, who hugged Lovelace after the verdicts were read. "And we knew that once the facts were heard by a jury of his peers that this would be the verdict."
County Attorney Rick Romley said he knew going into the trial that very few law enforcement officers have been convicted nationwide on charges stemming from on-duty shootings.
"Knowing what I know today, even with the not guilty verdicts, I'd still bring the charges," Romley said. "The facts of this case, we believe a jury needed to make the ultimate decisions."
Lovelace was the only officer charged with crimes stemming from an on-duty shooting during Romley's 16-year tenure as county attorney.
"I believe a police officer has a very difficult job. I will generally give the benefit of the doubt to a police officer," Romley said.
But Romley said he would not hesitate to file charges against an officer in the future if he believed the officer acted outside the law in a police shooting.
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