A YEAR AFTER LETHAL RAID, MENA CASE STILL RANKLES ACTIVISTS

Mexican Immigrant Was Shot By Police Using Wrong Address In Search For Drugs.

One year after Ismael Mena was killed by Denver SWAT officers in a drug
raid, community supporters say justice still hasn't been served.

"We are still looking for police to be accountable for their actions," said
Cynthia Gallegos, co-chairwoman of the Justice for Mena Committee.

"This shows that we will not forget."

Gallegos was one of the speakers at a candlelight vigil Friday night at the
City and County Building. About 30 people attended.

Mena, 45, a father of nine, was killed last Sept. 29 by SWAT members who
were carrying out a no-knock drug raid at a house he was renting at 3738
High St.

He was shot eight times after he pointed a gun at officers when they
stormed his bedroom. Mena's neighbors and roommates said he was likely
sleeping after working a graveyard shift at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. No
drugs were found in the house.

It was later determined authorities had targeted the wrong house.

Officer Joseph Bini is facing perjury charges for statements he made to a
judge to obtain the warrant used in the Mena raid. His trial is set for
Oct. 10.

Earlier this year, the city settled with the Mena family, who live in
Jalisco, Mexico, paying them more than $400,000.

Over the summer, the procedures for obtaining and executing warrants for
no-knock raids were based on recommendations from a panel appointed by
Mayor Wellington Webb after the Mena shooting.

Experienced narcotics officers and supervisors must now approve requests
for no-knock raids before they are requested from a judge. Officers also
now have three days instead of 10 to execute the warrant.

But for some, the changes aren't enough.

Stephen Nash, head of End the Politics of Cruelty, said the community needs
to monitor police.

He asked people to sign up for the new Denver Copwatch program, where
citizens monitor police actions.

"The idea is to shine a light on what police do," he said.