FAMILY CONDEMNS SHOOTING OF GRANDFATHER DURING DRUG RAID

COMPTON, Calif. (AP) -- El Monte police killed an innocent man when they
shot a 65-year-old grandfather in the back during a drug raid, a lawyer
contended Friday.

"What happened in this house was a homicide," attorney Brian Dunn said
during a news conference at the home where the Aug. 9 raid took place.

Mario Paz was shot twice in the back in front of his wife in their bedroom
after SWAT officers raided the house in the Los Angeles suburb.

Police have said Paz, a father of six and grandfather of 14, was shot
because he appeared to be trying to reach for a gun, but Dunn said he posed
"no threat of violence."

"My father's name means peace, and he stood for that," said his daughter,
Maria Derain.

The family planned to file a lawsuit alleging wrongful death and civil
rights violations.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the shooting.

Up to 20 officers shot the locks off the doors and entered the home as the
family was sleeping at about 11 p.m., the family and police indicated.

No drugs were found, but officers said they seized three pistols, a
.22-caliber rifle and $10,000 in cash.

Family members said the guns were for protection and the money was Paz' life
savings, which he had taken from his bank account because of concerns over
potential Y2K computer problems.

Nobody at the home was arrested, although seven family members were
questioned, including Paz' widow, Maria Luisa, who was taken from the home
in panties and handcuffs.

El Monte Assistant Police Chief Bill Ankeny said police went to the home to
seek evidence for use in a case against a Chino drug suspect who had been
released on bail the morning of the raid.

Ankeny said a "high-risk entry" was used because high-powered rifles had
been found along with 400 pounds of marijuana at other homes linked to the man.

The Compton home was targeted in a search warrant because phone bills and
other mail with the address was found in those other raids, he said.

The Paz family said the suspected drug dealer targetted in the raid had
lived near them in the 1980s and occasionally used their address to receive
mail.

The search warrant didn't name any Paz family members.

Officers "didn't have information of the Paz family being involved in
narcotics trafficking," Ankeny said Thursday. "To our knowledge they were not."

Ankeny said he had "the greatest sympathy for the family and their loss.
Loss of life is a tragedy."