VICTIM'S KIDS CRITICIZE POLICE RAID

Dec. 1 - Children of a man killed during a questionable no-knock drug raid
criticized Denver police Tuesday, saying their father would still be alive
today had officers acted properly.

"If the police knew where they were going, he wouldn't be dead," said
Heriberto Mena, the 21-year-old son of Ismael Mena. "It wasn't good what
they did."

Police, meanwhile, said they have revised their procedure in the wake of
the incident and will now require a supervisor to approve all search
warrants written by street officers.

Ismael Mena, 45, was slain by Denver SWAT officers during the Sept. 29 raid
at 3738 High St. Authorities say they fired at Mena after he drew a gun on
them and fired.

Recently, however, there have been allegations that police may have
targeted the wrong house because of inaccurate information in the search
warrant. Both the police department and the Denver District's Attorney's
Office are investigating.

The officer requesting the warrant for the High Street address, Joseph
Bini, is a neighborhood police officer in the northeast police district.

Bini said he saw "a previously reliable confidential informant" go to the
house - accurately describing the house in the affidavit - where the
informant said he or she bought a "rock" of crack.

But no drugs were found in the home, nor were any drugs found in Mena's
system during the autopsy.

"He didn't do or take drugs," said Jose Mena, another son, who lives with
his brother in Southern California. "He was a good man."

Neighbors of 3738 High said they never saw any drug activity there. They
think a house a few doors away was the more likely target.

"We all make mistakes. Maybe they did get the wrong address," said
Manuelita Jurrola, who lives just down the street. "According to all the
noises we used to hear ... everything was going to that other address, not
to where the police went to."

Mary Ann Casias agreed.

"I know for a fact there there was no drugs," she said. "I never seen any
and I've lived here for 10 years. ... I think they (the police) made a
mistake."

The new policy, instituted Nov. 10, was the result of the Mena case and the
demand on street officers to do more narcotics enforcement, Sgt. Tony
Lombard said.

"There's more people doing search warrants these days than just narcs
(narcotics detectives)," Lombard said "Due to that, an additional level of
review was inserted in the process."

Street officers often are called in to handle narcotics complaints, said
Capt. Marco Vasquez, Bini's commander and a former supervisor in the
narcotics bureau.

"It boils down to supply and demand," Vasquez said. "There are more
narcotics complaints citywide than the narcotics detectives can handle."

Heriberto Mena said his father's friends and neighbors have speculated that
he may have thought someone was breaking into his house, so he grabbed a
gun to protect himself.

There were several people - both male and female - living at the High
Street house, and Mena may have been trying to fend off the would-be
intruders, his family said.

"I never saw him with a gun," Heriberto Mena said. "I don't know where he
got it. Maybe he thought the police were burglars."

Heriberto described his father as a caring, hard-working man who took care
of his family in Mexico by earning money here in the United States. He
would typically work for a while, send money home, then return to Mexico to
see his family.

Ismael Mena was married to Maria del Carmen Mena. They were raising five
daughters and four sons in the west-central Mexican state of Jalisco.
Heriberto Mena said his father worked for Coca-Cola in Colorado, and that
he had held several jobs in Washington state, California and Colorado.

Ironically, Ismael Mena came to Colorado about six months ago, family
members said, because he "felt safer" here.

The shooting victim liked to ride horses, his son, Heriberto said, and even
raised a few at his Mexican home.

"Everyone is very sad," Heriberto said.

Denver Post Staff Writer Jim Kirksey contributed to this report.