Shane French of WMMS "Rover's Morning Glory" pleads not guilty

Attorneys for Shane French, WMMS radio host of "Rover's Morning Glory" are asking a judge to dismiss charges against him stemming from a July 5 altercation with an off-duty Cleveland police officer over fireworks.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lawyers for Shane "Rover" French and his sidekick Michael "Chocolate Charlie" Toomey are asking a judge to dismiss assault and other charges against the WMMS radio personalities alleging that Cleveland police destroyed evidence in the case.

French, 38, host of 'Rover's Morning Glory" and Toomey, 29, were indicted in October on charges including assault, criminal damaging, resisting arrest, including panic related to an early morning July 5th altercation with an off-duty Cleveland police officer over fireworks.

Both pleaded not guilty to the charges, which on air French called "absolutely absurd, ridiculous and not based in fact whatsoever."

Officer Steven Kinas reported that he was on his boat at a Whiskey Island marina when a drunken French shot fireworks in his direction – nearly hitting him at one point. The officer said he confronted French, who then shoved the officer. Other Cleveland officers later arrested French that morning.



An audiotaped statement from Kinas was deleted and replaced with a second statement that is riddled with inconsistencies when compared with police incident and use of force reports, according to a 20-page motion filed Friday by attorneys Larry Zukerman and S. Michael Lear.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office spokesman Joe Frolik said no recording was intentionally destroyed. He said when an assistant county prosecutor learned the July 5th statement had not been recorded due to an equipment problem, she instructed police to interview Kinas again and include the fact it was a second attempt to record his statement. Frolik said Kinas' initial statements were included in a written police report shared with defense attorneys.

In the motion, the attorneys argue that eyewitness statements, police radio dispatch tapes and surveillance video from the Olde River Yacht Club, reveal the confrontation likely happened differently than Kinas reported it.

See the full motion in the document viewer below or click here to view on a mobile device.



The yacht club video shows Kinas at one point dragging French from his boat to a guard shack, according to the motion.

After his indictment, French said he was a victim of police brutality.

Police and prosecutors declined to comment on that statement, citing an open investigation.

The court filing also calls into question what lawyers say are a numerous contradictions, including the following.

Whether the officer first confronted French through a fence

Whether Kinas showed French his badge or told him "I'm the police, that's who the f--- I am."

Whether French "escaped" from Kinas' grasp when he attempted to arrest him or whether he let them go, allowing French to walk back to his own boat.

Whether Kinas told the security guard to call police or instructed the guard not to or said he would call from his own cell phone.

In asking Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan to dismiss the case, French's attorneys say that although a Cleveland officer said the first interview was accidentally deleted, it could have been erased to give Kinas – whose statements were evolving – a chance to "'redo' the interview for better result."

Now, according to the motion, that first statement can't be used for comparison with the various other conflicting statements and evidence from events that morning that could call Kinas' credibility into question.

"These inconsistencies alone are troubling, but the issue is compounded by the destroyed audiotaped interview," the motion states.

The case is set for trial on May 20.