BY MENSAH M. DEAN,
THE FALL FROM grace is almost
complete for onetime hero police officer Richard DeCoatsworth, who entered a
courtroom yesterday and pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution, simple
assault and drug possession.
DeCoatsworth, 28, could face
seven to 14 years in state prison when sentenced March 11 by Common Pleas Judge
Charles Ehrlich.
His attorney, A. Charles Peruto
Jr., however, said DeCoatsworth has changed, no longer uses heroin to cope with
the pain of a gunshot wound to the face he suffered in the line of duty and
should be released with credit for time served.
Behind bars since May on bail
amounts ranging from $60 million to the current $3 million, DeCoatsworth's
current predicament is a far cry from how his law-enforcement career began.
In September 2007, the
21-year-old rookie cop made headlines for surviving a shotgun blast to the face
and helping to catch the gunman during a traffic stop.
DeCoatsworth was soon
transferred to the Police Department's elite Highway Patrol, and in 2009 was
invited to sit next to Michelle Obama during President Obama's first address to
Congress.
He retired abruptly in 2011. By
then, the city had settled a series of lawsuits - the largest for $1.5 million
- in which DeCoatsworth was accused of misconduct.
DeCoatsworth apparently hit
rock bottom in May, when he was arrested for choking and punching his
girlfriend and for serving as a pimp for two prostitutes.
The disgraced ex-cop was
initially charged with more than 30 crimes that could have resulted in a
lifetime in prison. The charges included rape, aggravated assault, human
trafficking, witness intimidation, terroristic threats and impersonating an
officer.
All but the three charges he
pleaded guilty to were dropped yesterday, which prompted DeCoatsworth's father
to question the validity of the entire case.
"From a $60 million bail to
this? Apparently, there was no case," Mark DeCoatsworth said.
"These women . . . were
hookers before he knew them and they are hookers now," he said of the two
women for whom his son pleaded to pimping.
Assistant District Attorney
Ashley Lynam disputed the senior DeCoatsworth's assessment of the case, saying
the former cop would not have pleaded guilty if the case lacked merit.
"The fact that Richard
DeCoatsworth was a former police officer has absolutely no bearing on any
decisions made by us," she said. "It's not going to be relevant at
sentencing and it certainly isn't relevant in the plea today."
Peruto said DeCoatsworth turned
to heroin after Percocet failed to relieve his pain.
"He's a different person
now than he was when he was arrested. When he was arrested, his brains were
scrambled. He got involved with things to relieve the pain," Peruto said.
"But you don't know what you would do if you got shot in the face."
