ACTIVIST TAKES ON DENVER POLICE OVER SLAYING IN NO-KNOCK RAID

DENVER - Denver's latest media darling is a 32-year-old father, a
dropout-turned-college student and no friend of the city's police force.

Leroy Lemos, a Denver native and longtime Latino activist, has emerged as
one of the most vocal and visible critics of law enforcement since police
shot and killed a Mexican national in September.

Ismael Mena, 45, died after SWAT team members mistakenly executed a no-knock
search warrant on his house. The father of nine was killed when he fired on
police. A recent Jefferson County investigation cleared Denver SWAT team
members of wrongdoing.

Lemos, accustomed to activism - albeit in a lower-profile role - leaped into
the fray. He became a spokesman for the Mena family as well as the Justice
for Mena Committee.

"Every person involved in acquiring and executing the no-knock warrant
should be brought before a judge to face charges of gross criminal
negligence," Lemos said.

He has written U.S. Attorney Janet Reno and urged her office to investigate
the Denver Police Department for corruption.

Lemos was at the center of controversy again lastcq week when Denver police
officers broke up a rally on the 16th Street Mall. Lemos is meeting with the
American Civil Liberties Union and may sue the police for squelching the
protest.

None of this comes as a surprise for those familiar with Lemos' history.

His parents were deeply rooted in Hispanic activism. He attended an
alternative school that preached Latino culture. At college, Lemos created a
Latino entrepreneur club and later worked for Wellington Webb's mayoral
campaign.

Lemos has also grown up immersed in Latino culture. He attended Escuela
Tlatelolco, an alternative school that stressed Mexican culture.

"It was a family-based school that offered an alternative education in
addition to normal reading, writing and arithmetic," Lemos said. "It
featured classes that taught our culture history, provided Spanish classes,
provided cultural arts classes, boxing club and food that was culturally
reflective."

Lemos dropped out of school in ninth grade. He later took the GED and went
to a community college. He now attends the University of Colorado-Denver and
studies political science.

He works for the PODER Project; a Denver organization aimed at rebuilding
the city's Hispanic community. The group is fighting a university's plan to
build student housing on the city's westside.

Lemos and his supporters contend any expansion would push Latino families
out of the area and violate a long-standing agreement between the university
and westside residents.

Lemos, who's married and has a young daughter, said he couldn't rule out a
run for political office someday. For now, though, he said his plate is too
full.

"I care about my people. I care about my community. And I care about my
city," Lemos said. "There has been talk about me running for (Denver) City
Council, but right now I can be more effective as a community activist."