ORTIZ VOWS PROBE OF SWAT BLUNDER

San Antonio's top cop said Friday that he was concerned about the wrongful
invasion by police of a Southwest Side duplex earlier this week, but he
wants a full inquiry before speaking out against the SWAT team members who
made the mistake.

"I want to assure the community that if there are any problems, we'll
rectify them," Chief Albert Ortiz said. "We are going to review this and
look at the fine details. We don't mind making changes if that's what needs
to be done."

But until that review is completed, Ortiz said he doesn't want the SWAT team
members who mistakenly stormed a duplex Wednesday looking for a suspected
drug dealer to become scapegoats for what could be an unfortunate accident.

"We are talking about a SWAT team that has a reputation for being one of the
best in the country," Ortiz said.

Two residents, cousins Marcos and Salvador Huerta, suffered minor injuries
when officers broke through the rear sliding glass door of their duplex in
the 5900 block of Fairshire Road.

The cousins said they fell to their living room floor after the glass door
was shot out with soft bullets and a concussion grenade exploded at their
feet. They said officers kicked and punched them several times before
realizing they had stormed the wrong house.

Minutes later, officers went next door, knocked on the front door of the
correct address, and arrested a suspect without incident.

Narcotics investigators had been watching the house for two days before they
tried to serve the arrest warrant about 8 p.m. Wednesday. Police said the
SWAT team was called in to assist in the raid because police believed that
the suspect was armed and had been heard making threats against police.

However, police recovered no weapons at the correct house, and only a small
amount of narcotics.

Ortiz said internal reports were being gathered about the incident for
further study. If any disciplinary actions come out of the internal review,
they will be "run up the chain of command," he said, adding that could take
some time.

"There's no rush," Ortiz said. "The review has to be thorough and
deliberate. When it gets to me, I'll determine the best possible scenario
and try to prevent it from happening again."

Across the country, there have been other address mix-ups and accidents by
police officers serving warrants.

Two years ago in Modesto, Calif., a SWAT team accidentally shot and killed
an 11-year-old boy who had been asked to lie on the floor. In 1999, Denver
SWAT officers killed a 45-year-old Mexican immigrant after raiding the wrong
house.

Will Harrell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Texas, said Thursday that home invasion mistakes are becoming common around
the country as police departments move away from community-oriented police
models to more militarized models "with a siege mentality.

"Ortiz said that's not the case in San Antonio.

"That's really not reality," Ortiz said. "We have the community support to
prove it, particularly and specifically in San Antonio.

"I'd like to see some statistics."