COP PLEADS GUILTY IN RAID

Deal may allow Bini to keep his badge in failed drug bust that led to
shooting death

Suspended Denver police officer Joseph Bini beamed after pleading guilty
Thursday to a misdemeanor charge that may allow him to keep his badge.

Bini, 31, was headed for trial next week on three felony charges when
prosecutors cut the deal, largely because of a judge's ruling that barred
them from presenting most of their evidence to a jury.

Bini was the only officer charged in connection with a botched no-knock raid
that claimed the life of Ismael Mena on Sept. 29, 1999, when officers struck
the wrong house.

"Ismael Mena's family and his spirit have not received any kind of justice
in this case," said LeRoy Lemos, spokesman for the Justice for Mena
Committee, a group that formed in reaction to the killing.

Mena, a Mexican citizen and father of nine, was shot eight times after he
pointed a gun at SWAT officers who had stormed his bedroom.

"Legal murder, that's what it is," said committee member Mary Miera. "Joe
Bini should have to look Ismael Mena's nine children in the face and explain
to them what happened to their father."

The committee has asked Mayor Wellington Webb and safety manager Ari Zavaras
to fire Bini.

"He has shown that he is incapable of competently fulfilling his duties as a
police officer," Lemos said.

Denver paid Mena's survivors $400,000 to settle a lawsuit.

Bini pleaded guilty to official misconduct, but still maintains he broke no
law.

He was charged with making false statements on an affidavit and deceiving a
judge to obtain a no-knock search warrant.

"We're just happy that it's over, and now I can get on with my life," Bini
said as he left the courtroom, adding that he hopes to return to work as a
police officer. "Absolutely. I love my job. Love my job."

Two felony perjury charges and one felony charge of deceiving the judge who
approved the warrant were dropped as part of the plea bargain.

The official misconduct charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail
and a $1,000 fine, but his plea agreement does not require jail time.

Denver District Judge Shelley Gilman will sentence Bini Dec. 1.

Special prosecutor Charles Tingle of the Jefferson County district
attorney's office said his office conducted an exhaustive investigation of
facts behind the case.

"The disposition is one we believe is fair, equitable and holds the
defendant accountable," he said.

A felony conviction would have barred Bini from returning to work, but the
misdemeanor conviction means his future rests with Police Chief Gerry
Whitman.

"Joe always admitted there were mistakes in the warrant, but a mistake is a
far cry from perjury and there was no perjury here," defense attorney David
Bruno said.

Last month Gilman barred mention of Mena's death during the trial. She also
ruled jurors couldn't hear that no drugs were found at Mena's house but were
at a neighboring house. They would also not hear that Bini made a similar
error in 1998.