Newsome: 'I sincerely apologize'

Fourth Judicial District Attorney John Newsome apologized Wednesday after being caught by a television news station's hidden camera drinking at a bar and later driving a county-owned vehicle.

"I sincerely apologize for ever allowing myself to be placed in that situation where there's even a perception of wrongdoing," Newsome said. "Perception can be as damaging as actual wrongdoing. . . . Even the appearance is a distraction for the office."

Newsome said he is no longer disputing the KOAA report and vowed to do better.

"I realize I need to be setting the standard for setting an example, and that's what I'll strive to do," Newsome said. "I will strive to make sure a thing like this never happens again."

A Colorado Springs police spokesman said Wednesday there is no criminal investigation of Newsome based on the station's report.

"DUI is something that typically you have to observe in the act," said police spokesman Lt. Skip Arms. "It's very difficult to go back and obtain sufficient legal evidence."

The television station aired its report Tuesday night after filming Newsome on a "recent afternoon" as he drank three 20-ounce beers and a 10-ounce beer during "work hours" over the course of less than two hours at Oscar's, a downtown Colorado Springs bar.
Newsome was then shown heading back to his office. An hour later, he drove his El Paso Countyowned SUV to another bar, according to KOAA.

There, Newsome was reportedly seen drinking four more pints with Assistant District Attorney Amy Mullaney and then driving away. Mullaney was also drinking with Newsome earlier that day at Oscar's.

"Over a period of weeks, News First employees watched him engage in similar behavior three other times," the station reported.

John Gleason, spokesman for the Colorado Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Regulation, said: "If a complaint is filed, we will investigate it like we would for any other attorney."

The owner of Oscar's recently had a felony assault arrest lowered to a misdemeanor by Newsome's office.

A prosecutor and the bar owner's attorney said the lesser charge is appropriate based on the evidence and that Newsome had nothing to do with the decision.

"Frankly, it's offensive to an attorney to allege they would make a decision that would affect their license, put that on the line, for a business owner," said Deputy District Attorney Holly Dodge, who filed the misdemeanor assault charge against Oscar's owner Phil Duhon.

Duhon attorney Damon Cassens said: "I almost find it offensive that someone would say that because Newsome drank a beer at Oscar's that would play into their decision somehow."

Duhon was accused of attacking a woman who refused to leave after a night of drinking at Oscar's on Jan. 28.

Newsome, a Republican who was elected district attorney in 2004, is running unopposed for re-election in November.

Colorado Springs police officer Alan Roman, president of the Colorado Springs Police Protective Association, said Wednesday that it's too early to say if the report will affect the PPA's endorsement of Newsome in the upcoming election.

The association's board will meet next month and Newsome's endorsement will be discussed, he said.

El Paso County Attorney Bill Louis said the county's policy on using government vehicles doesn't apply to Newsome because it excludes elected officials.

But Louis did confirm Wednesday that if anyone is involved in a crash involving a county-owned vehicle and negligence is found there's a waiver of the Governmental Immunity Act, and El Paso County taxpayers would be liable for damages.

Executive director of the Colorado chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Emily Tompkins said: "We're certainly tracking the story."

MADD members in Colorado Springs are "great fans and supporters" of Newsome's handling of DUI cases in El Paso and Teller counties, she said.

Asked if the report would in any way affect the way his office handles DUI cases, Newsome said it wouldn't.

"This office continues to make public safety our No. 1 priority," Newsome said, "regardless of any portrayals or attacks on me."

There didn't seem to be any rush Wednesday by Republicans or Democrats to find a candidate to oppose him on the ballot, party insiders said.

El Paso County GOP Executive Director Nathan Fisk said that no one called party headquarters to express an interest in petitioning onto the Aug. 12 primary ballot.

Democratic state Sen. John Morse of Colorado Springs said he had heard no talk within his party about rustling up a candidate and predicted that putting together an organization to run a candidate could be difficult at this point. Plus, the makeup of the district, in which Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 2-to-1, would be daunting for anyone who might consider the race, he said.

The deadline to declare candidacy is May 29.

Staff Writers Lance Benzel and Ed Sealover contributed to this report.