COPS DEFEND SLAYING IN DRUG RAID

Officials Downplay Vision Impairment

GREELEY -- A Gilcrest man shot and killed by police in a drug raid had
been selling cocaine to undercover officers for three months, police
records say.

Police identified the man as Leonardo Quintana, 52. He was shot Friday
after he fired at officers who entered his home, authorities said.

Rachel Contreras, 37, was wounded by a bullet that went through
Quintana's body, police said. She had a fractured pelvis and was in
serious condition at the North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley.

Contreras, suspected of selling drugs to undercover officers, will be
arrested after she is released from the hospital, police said.

Responding to reports that Quintana was blind, Weld County sheriff's
spokeswoman Margie Martinez said police had no information that he was
completely blind.

"Undercover officers recognized that Mr. Quintana may have been
visually impaired, but he had no trouble dispensing drugs or
conducting illegal business," she said.

The sheriff's office is investigating the shooting and will submit a
report to the Weld County district attorney, who will determine if
charges should be filed against officers.

Police got a search warrant for Quintana's house Friday, Martinez
said.

Five members of the Weld County Drug Task Force and three Greeley
police officers knocked on the door and heard voices. Officers
identified themselves as police and said they had a warrant before
entering the house, Martinez said.

"As the officers approached the kitchen, the suspect stepped around a
corner and fired two shots from a .357-caliber magnum pistol at the
officers," Martinez said. "One officer fired once from a shotgun,
which contained a single slug. The slug hit the suspect, then exited
and hit the woman who was standing behind him."

The wounded Quintana fired at police. An officer returned fire with a
.223-caliber automatic weapon, hitting Quintana "multiple times,"
Martinez said.

Officers said they found marijuana and a half-pound of cocaine in the
house.