Charges dropped against citizen activist Sam Dehne

RENO, Nev. - County prosecutors dropped charges Thursday against a political activist who was arrested and briefly jailed for allegedly disturbing the peace at an airport authority meeting.

Sam Dehne, 59, a sometimes political candidate and frequent, loud critic at public government meetings, has been kicked out of the meetings before.

He was arrested at the airport authority meeting on Sept. 14 and booked into the Washoe County Jail for allegedly disturbing the peace, disturbing a public meeting and obstructing and resisting arrest.

Dehne spent about three hours in jail before being released on his own recognizance.

The Washoe County District Attorney's office subsequently charged him with a single count of disturbing the peace and Reno Municipal Judge Paul Hickman set a Dec. 5 trial date.

The charge was based on a report by the Airport Authority Police Department that said Dehne had become ''loud and insulting towards the entire board,'' Deputy District Attorney John Helzer said.

But Helzer said in a statement Thursday the charge was dropped after an investigation yielded additional information based on videotapes, audiotapes and interviews with witnesses.

''After reviewing the original reports and the materials obtained through subsequent investigative efforts, a determination was made by the Washoe County District Attorney's Office that the facts did not support prosecuting Mr. Dehne,'' Helzer said.

In addition, Helzer said that Airport Authority Chairman Richard Hill had intended that Dehne simply be removed from the meeting, not arrested, when he summoned the officers.

Dehne, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and commercial airline pilot, lost in the Ward 3 primary for the Reno City Council. He previously ran unsuccessfully for Reno mayor and the U.S. Senate.

The recent dispute stemmed from Hill's creation of a formal public comment policy that asks people who address the board during meetings to show respect and dignity towards others.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reported at the time that Dehne began verbally jousting with trustees during the public comment period on Sept. 14.

Dehne ridiculed Hills' new comment policy and spit on a piece of paper on which it was written and then tore it apart. Later, he objected loudly from the audience when trustees declined to pull an item off the consent agenda so he could comment on it. Hill admonished him for speaking out of turn.

During a presentation by airport property manager Patricia Ryan, someone behind Dehne tried to reach for the piece of torn paper that contained Dehne's spit. In a loud voice, Dehne told him to be careful and that the paper had spit on it.

Hill thought he heard Dehne say, ''I spit on you,'' and interpreted the remark as an attack on Ryan, the newspaper said.

Hill immediately chastised Dehne for his remark and Dehne began yelling at him, demanding an apology and calling him a liar. Hill ordered Dehne to be quiet and when he didn't, airport police were called.