Colorado prosecutor calls firefighters "childish and foolish" but no criminal charges in Aurora incident
Prosecutors have decided no criminal charges will be filed against a pair of Aurora firefighters following a bizarre game of "chicken" that saw the firefighters run an Aurora police sergeant off the road earlier this year. The sergeant said he thought the firefighters were trying to kill him.
"The actions taken by the driver of the fire truck were childish and foolish," wrote Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley of the 18th Judicial District, which includes parts of Aurora. "Based on the evidence presented ... We are declining to file charges."
The decision stems from an incident in February of this year. Videotapes obtained in a CBS News investigation showed an on-duty Aurora fire engine traveling over the speed limit on an access road in southeast Aurora during the early evening hours.
The fire truck -- with its high beams on -- was traveling over the speed limit, and an Aurora police car, driven by Sgt. Tony Spano, was coming from the opposite direction. The videos show two spotlights on the fire truck were activated and were pointed at the oncoming police cruiser. A fire department investigation said the fire truck then veered into the oncoming lane of traffic, aiming at the police car and forcing it off the road to avoid a collision.
"Someone tried to kill me," Spano told investigators.
He has declined to provide comment to CBS News about what occurred.
"Why would you want to use a fire truck to kill a cop?" he asked.
He also told investigators he thought the firefighters should face criminal charges.
But after reviewing the case, Brackley said that won't happen.
"The review of the evidence in this matter does not support such a finding, nor a finding that any related criminal charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," wrote Brackley.
Brackley went on to say the firefighters were "irresponsible and unprofessional, but not criminal. While the fire truck should not have been traveling down the center of the roadway, there is no evidence that the engineer made any deliberate swerving or turning movements toward Sgt. Spano's vehicle as it approached or passed the fire truck."
The driver of the fire truck, Engineer Ryan Endly and the lieutenant on the truck, John Casessa, were both demoted by their department. They told their department what they did was just a "prank" or "horseplay."
Casessa told investigators the following: "We were messing around and thought it was someone we knew ... The whole purpose of it was horseplay. It's not who I thought it was."
Both Casessa and Endley are appealing their demotions.
