REPORT QUESTIONS FATAL NO-KNOCK RAID

(Jan. 9) - A report from a private investigator, delivered to the
special prosecutor looking into the death of a man shot by Denver
police in a "no-knock" raid, paints a different picture than the
version provided by police.

Jim Kearney, a private investigator hired by the family of Ismael
Mena, said the unarmed 45-year-old father of nine was holding his
bedroom door closed as hooded SWAT officers shot through the door,
striking him six times.

"These officers had shot from the blind, never having seen their
target before shooting," Kearney told The Denver Post on Saturday.

"Incredible," said Denver SWAT Capt. Vince DiManna, who led the
"no-knock" raid at Mena's northeast Denver home Sept. 29 after
obtaining a warrant based on information from a confidential informant
who told police he or she had purchased drugs at the home. "That is
flat full of lies and misinterpretations and totally erroneous. I
would call (Kearney) absolutely not credible."

Authorities say they shot Mena eight times after he drew a handgun,
whose ownership later could not be traced, and fired on police.

"There were shots that went through the door," said
DiManna.

The FBI is investigating a possible violation of Mena's civil
rights.

A second investigation, led by Dave Thomas, the Jefferson County
district attorney selected as the special prosecutor for the
investigation, is looking into both the use of deadly force by police
and the affidavit that led to the issuing of a warrant that allowed
armed police to storm the home.

"I don't believe (police) said they fired through a door," Thomas said
on Saturday. "They may have said they fired through a wall, but . . .
I don't think it was a closed door." In a scathing two-page report
sent to The Denver Post, Kearney, who said he is a retired
25-year-veteran with the FBI, blasted the Denver police, saying
"deliberate mistakes" have prompted a "deliberate cover-up of a
murderous act." Thomas' office is investigating the possibility that
police stormed the wrong home after an informant told police he or she
had purchased cocaine at 3738 High St.

No drugs were found in the home and an autopsy showed that Mena had no
drugs in his system.

Thomas' office is also looking into questions that surround the
application of the search warrant and the possibility that an officer
lied to a judge in order to get the "no-knock" warrant.

Kearney met with Thomas on Friday and will meet again with
investigators on Monday. Thomas said Kearney refused to provide
evidence supporting his allegations at the Friday meeting.

"I take people at their word but his allegations are obviously
extremely serious and I don't know if there's any credibility to what
he says or not," Thomas said. "I asked him to provide me with any
evidence he had and, as of Friday, he was not willing to do that.
Allegations like this have to be based on either physical evidence or
eyewitnesses." Kearney declined to elaborate on the evidence that
supports his allegations, but he hinted that Antonio Hernandez, who
was in the room adjacent to Mena during the raid and was detained
briefly that night, helped his investigation.

In addition, a portion of bulletridden wallboard and a pair of slugs
found at the scene "also support this investigation's findings,"

Kearney said.

Denver police decried the report, as well as The Denver Post's
coverage of what police spokesman Sgt. Tony Lombard called "bizarre"
allegations.