Gooden, Police Seek Settlement

TAMPA, Fla.--After several days of claims and counter-claims, the attorney for Dwight Gooden and representatives of the Tampa Police Department are trying to find a way to cool things off following the New York Met pitcher's arrest and scuffle with police officers Saturday night.

The New York Times and Daily News reported yesterday that Tampa Police Chief Donald Newberger met Wednesday with attorneys for Gooden and Gary Sheffield, one of the others arrested in the incident.

"What we did today," Newberger told the Daily News, "was to get all sides together and try to get this back on an objective keel. Too many emotions have been involved. This has not been good for Dwight Gooden, the city of Tampa or the Tampa Police Department."

Gooden, his attorney and several witnesses have charged that police used excessive force in arresting Gooden and four of his friends, though no formal complaint has been filed.

What has been most embarrassing for the police was the "inadvertant" release to the media of Gooden's blood-test results.

The hospital-administered test, given about two hours after Gooden was arrested, showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .111. Under Florida law, operating a vehicle with an alcohol level of .100 qualifies as driving under the influence.

Newberger confirmed Wednesday that Gooden's blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit when he was tested at Tampa General Hospital, where he was taken after the scuffle, which began after he was stopped for a possible traffic violation.

The Hillsborough State Attorney's office is trying to determine if the test can be admitted as evidence in court.

Charles Ehrlich, Gooden's lawyer, conceded that the pitcher tested slightly over the limit, but he said the test was inadmissible in court because it was not administered by police at the scene. Hospital attorneys reportedly agree that the tests are Gooden's private property and not admissible in court.

The Times quotes law enforcement officials as saying the keys to a quick resolution of the case, which might take the form of loosely-supervised probation, appear to be a verbal cease-fire from both sides, Gooden's willingness to admit some degree of guilt and the willingness of the officers injured in the scuffle to agree to the probation.

Gooden and his four companions have been charged with battery on a police officer and of resisting arrest with violence--both felonies--as well as with disorderly conduct and careless driving.