LANSING RODE ON MENA DRUG RAID

Rockies Second Baseman Outside When Innocent Man Was Killed By Police

Colorado Rockies second baseman Mike Lansing was with police during an
ill-fated no-knock raid last fall in which an innocent man was killed.

Lansing had been on a civilian "ride-along" with the officers, one of whom
was his friend, said Police Chief Gerry Whitman.

"I was on the ride, but I didn't go in the home," Lansing said Sunday
before the Rockies played the Oakland A's at Coors Field. "I stayed in the
van. I can't really say anything more."

A Denver Metro SWAT unit on Sept. 29 shot and killed Ismael Mena during the
no-knock drug raid. It was later determined that officers targeted the
wrong house.

Mena, a Mexican citizen, was shot eight times after he pointed a gun at
officers as they stormed his bedroom at 3738 High St. No drugs were found.

The case was a factor in the eventual ouster of then-Police Chief Tom
Sanchez and the recent reassignment of Public Safety Manager Butch Montoya.
The Denver police officer who obtained the no-knock warrant faces perjury
charges.

The shooting resulted in a $400,000 settlement to Mena's family and
triggered sweeping changes in how no-knock warrants are obtained.

Denver police had never revealed that Lansing was at the scene.

Whitman, recently named to replace Sanchez, said Lansing had obtained the
required ride permit for that day.

"He apparently was riding with an officer he knew," Whitman said. "The
information I have is he remained outside the home (during the raid) with
one of the officers who was driving a van and a cadet."

Civilian ride-alongs are fairly common with patrol officers but more
unusual with the SWAT unit.

"Ride-alongs can be a good public relations tool for police departments,"
Whitman said. "We have a standard liability waiver form which needs to be
signed by the civilian and approved at the district or bureau level. If the
rider is under 21, it must be approved by a division chief."

Lansing, 32, said he and Rockies outfielder Larry Walker frequently go on
ride-alongs with police.

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

He would not comment on the specifics of what happened.

"I'm not a policeman."

But he said the officers were just doing their jobs.

Lansing said he did not go home that night with his SWAT buddy. He said he
got a ride back with another officer. Lansing later found out he had been
near the scene of the Mena shooting.

Since the incident, Lansing said, he has continued to ride with police.

The drug raid wasn't Lansing's first brush with crime.

In December, Lansing was hit in the head with a shotgun during a mugging in
which he and his wife were robbed of an estimated $40,000 of property and cash.

Police said Lansing and his wife, Kathleen, were robbed of cash and
jewelry, including two $17,000 watches, in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla.

Staff writer Tracy Ringolsby contributed to this story.