NO-KNOCK IS LATEST BAD PRESS FOR POLICE

Webb Comes To Defense Of Troubled Department

Allegations that high-ranking Denver police officers tried to pressure
a subordinate into misleading investigators looking into a fatal
police shooting is the latest in a string of black eyes for the department.

In addition to the "no-knock" raid that left a man dead, the Denver
Police Department has recently come under fire for police using their
guns to beat suspects after a car chase and for hiring a recruit who
admitted extensive drug use.

Add to that gripes from officers who believe discipline has been too
harsh and complaints about the tear-gassing of unruly students at a
college football game.

"The centipede is running out of feet, waiting for the other shoe to
drop," said Denver City Councilman Ed Thomas, a former police officer
troubled by the string of problems the department has faced over the
past six months.

Mayor Wellington Webb came to the department's defense Saturday. He
echoed Police Chief Tom Sanchez's caution that citizens shouldn't rush
to judgment and said the department is being more open than ever with
the public.

"I've told people that if they're going to look for someone
that's

going to beat up on the police department, that's not going to be me,"
Webb said. "They are like any other department, where if they have

some people that make a mistake we're not going to blame the
whole department."

The latest controversy erupted after a veteran officer accused
superiors of trying to force her to make it appear there was a history
of trouble at a house where police carried out a surprise drug raid
Sept. 29. A Mexican national died in a shootout with police, but
questions soon arose about the validity of the warrant.

A special prosecutor is looking into the shooting of Ismael Mena, and
the results of that investigation could be announced as early as this
week.

Sanchez called a news conference Friday to "assure the community that
you have an excellent police department."

He asked citizens to wait until completion of the investigation, which
he said is a top priority.

"I assure you the appropriate action will be taken should it be
determined that either law or policy violations have occurred,"
Sanchez said.

The current string of controversies can be attributed to three things,
Webb said.

In the early and mid-1990s, the department stepped up efforts to
communicate with residents following a series of gang shootings. The
result has been a new level of openness between the department and

Denver Citizens.

Second, Webb said, officials have been "fairly open" in talking about
controversial cases.

"My standard has been that if we do a good job, an extraordinary job,
like what was done on the Emily Johnson (murder) case, then the police
department needs to be applauded for the outstanding police work that
was done," he said. "And if there was a mistake that was made, and we
made it in the police department as part of the city, then we admit
it."

And, Webb said, the 1996 shooting death of a man outside a nightclub
by two off-duty officers intensified outside scrutiny of police actions.

Webb said the Mena shooting concerns him greatly, adding that the
investigation will bring out the truth.

Meanwhile, others are critical of the department.

The Rev. Gill Ford, a former member of the city's Public Safety Review
Commission, said the complaint filed last week by the veteran officer
made it clear to him there are problems in the department.

"It shows that there is a lack of real integrity in the police
department and it starts at the top," Ford said.

Councilman Thomas, however, said that while ultimate responsibility
for the actions of police officers lies with Chief Sanchez, it's not
necessarily fair to blame him for the recent problems.