BINI: I'M INNOCENT OF PERJURY

Feb. 19 - The Denver police officer charged with perjury in connection
with the noknock drug raid that left a man dead was in court Friday
and intends to plead not guilty.

Officer Joseph Bini, a five-year department veteran, was advised of
the charges against him in Denver County Court and is due back in
court March 6.

A smiling Bini walked past a battery of reporters. His attorney, David
Bruno, said Bini will plead not guilty.

A dozen law officers attended the brief hearing in a show of support
for Bini. And about 20 members of the Justice for Mena Committee
attended, too.

The perjury charge against Bini stems from a search-warrant affidavit
he wrote in September. When SWAT officers executed the search warrant
at the home of 45-year-old Ismael Mena on Sept. 29, they killed the
father of nine, allegedly after he fired a gun at them.

Prosecutors say Bini lied on the affidavit and, ussing information
from a confidential informant, sent SWAT officers to the wrong house.

"There's no denying that mistakes were made with the warrant, and a
number of people were responsible for those mistakes," said Bruno.
"Officer Bini is charged because he signed the warrant.

"But perjury requires that Officer Bini sent his fellow officers into
the wrong house while believing the information to be not true. We'll
rest our not guilty plea on his believing the information to be true.
He didn't know it to be false."

Leroy Lemos, spokesman for the Justice for Mena group, called the
court case against Bini "a charade" and "a slap in the face to the
memory of Ismael Mena."

He said he doesn't think the charges will stick. "We want to see the
charge changed to criminal negligence resulting in murder."

Bini has been suspended from the force without pay pending the
outcome.