Appeals court upholds former Tulsa officer Jeff Henderson's contempt conviction
By ROBERT BOCZKIEWICZ World Correspondent on Aug 13, 2013, at 2:24 AM Updated on 8/13/13 at 6:44 AM
Jeff Henderson: The judge ruled that Henderson had perjured himself when he testified in a hearing last year on a convicted drug dealer's petition to be released from prison as a result of the federal investigation into corruption in the Tulsa Police Department.
Grand Jury
The city of Tulsa has had another victory in litigation spawned by the investigation of corruption in the Tulsa Police Department.
DENVER - The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld February's contempt conviction of a former Tulsa police officer.
The Denver-based court hasn't yet decided Jeff Henderson's appeal of convictions in 2011 flowing from an investigation of police corruption.
Henderson was sentenced in 2011 in U.S. District Court in Tulsa to 42 months in custody for convictions that year of perjury and violating the rights of persons he investigated as suspected drug dealers.
U.S. District Judge James Payne convicted Henderson in February of contempt for false testimony and sentenced him to an additional three months. The judge found Henderson perjured himself a year ago during a hearing on convicted drug dealer Tony Becknell Jr.'s petition for release from prison.
The federal investigation of Tulsa police corruption resulted in charges against six current or former officers, including Henderson, and a federal agent. Their trials involved allegations that they falsified search warrants, perjured themselves, tampered with witnesses, sold drugs and were part of a drug conspiracy.
The appeals court heard arguments Nov. 6 on Henderson's challenge of the 2011 convictions, but there is no indication when the judges will make their decision on that appeal.
In Monday's ruling, the appellate judges agreed 3-0 that Payne did not err in holding Henderson in contempt. The eight-page ruling said Payne was in a unique position to gauge Henderson's credibility in his testimony about who was his confidential informant in 2005 against the drug dealer.
The identity of Henderson's purported informant against Becknell was important because Becknell sought release on grounds that Henderson, in sworn affidavits for search warrants against Becknell, lied about who the informant was.
Becknell produced evidence that Henderson's testimony was false about who the purported informant was.
At least 48 people have been freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil rights violations or potential problems with their cases stemming from the police corruption.
Henderson left prison June 12 and began house arrest for his final months of confinement, which is expected to end Oct. 25, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said last month.
Original Print Headline: Ex-Tulsa officer's appeal of contempt conviction upheld
Grand Jury
The city of Tulsa has had another victory in litigation spawned by the investigation of corruption in the Tulsa Police Department.
