LANSING RIDE-ALONG REVIEWED

July 18, 2000 - Denver police will review ride-along policies after
Colorado Rockies baseball player Mike Lansing accompanied SWAT
officers during a fatal " no-knock" drug raid last September.

"We're investigating that whole thing," said Deputy Police Chief Dave
Abrams. "We want to make sure (the policy) doesn't need minor tuneups,
and we want to make sure all of our command officers are aware of
proper procedures and that they're adhered to."

Lansing's ride-along came to light over the weekend - nearly a year
after the fatal raid.

While on the ride-along, the Rockies second baseman remained in a
police van while officers raided the wrong house and killed
45-year-old Ismael Mena.

The Sept. 29 raid contributed to the ouster of former Police Chief Tom
Sanchez, led to perjury charges against the officer who obtained the
search warrant and also resulted in new rules on no-knock raids.
Denver paid $400,000 to Mena's family as a settlement.

Officials said Lansing talked to an officer at the scene of the fatal
raid and then was taken back to his car without being interviewed by
detectives.

"The officer determined that Lansing did not see or hear anything that
would be relevant to the case," said police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez.

But normal procedure would have required that Lansing go to police
headquarters and fill out a statement.

"The disturbing part is why he wasn't interviewed that day," Abrams
said.

Police Chief Gerry Whitman, who was patrol division commander at the
time, agreed.

"It sounds like a legitimate ride-along, but he should have been
interviewed by detectives that day," Whitman said.

Ride-alongs are most common at the district level, but citizens are
occasionally allowed to accompany special units, such as SWAT, said
Abrams, who spent 11 years with that unit.

"It's not totally unheard of," Abrams said. "It's just not the norm."
Detectives hoped to interview Lansing between games Monday. The
Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, which is serving as
special prosecutor in the case, will review the statement.

"At this point, we don't know if it would change anything," said
Jeffco DA spokeswoman Pam Russell. "But we would certainly like to
have a conversation with him and look into it further."

Those who go on ride-alongs are asked to fill out forms, and the
paperwork is kept on file for three years, Whitman said. He couldn't
estimate the number of ride-alongs but said there are many.

Lansing wasn't available for comment Monday but earlier told reporters
that he frequently goes on ride-alongs with police.

"But it's not every day you hear gunshots," Lansing
said.

Teammate Larry Walker doesn't know why Lansing is getting so much
attention in this incident. "I don't know what anyone is trying to dig
up here," Walker said. "Unfortunately, Mike was involved when there
was some action. But he sat in the truck the whole time." Walker said
he and several other players, including former Rockie Dante Bichette,
had gone on ridealongs with police.

"Just being in the car and traveling around with the law gets me
pumped up," he said. "You don't need any action to be excited."

He said he mostly sits in a police car and watches from there, though
he wears a bulletproof vest "just for my own state of mind." Walker
said ride-alongs are a way for the players to show support and respect
for police.

Denver Post sports writer Irv Moss contributed to this report.