TRIAL SET TO START FOR DRUG AGENT ACCUSED OF KILLING

For the first time in California history, a Department of Justice
drug agent will go on trial this week in San Jose for killing someone
in the line of duty -- a case that could pit local police against
state narcotics agents.

State Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agent Michael Walker is charged
with voluntary manslaughter in the mistaken-identity death of Rodolfo
"Rudy" Cardenas, whom Walker shot in the back during a botched
pursuit in February 2004.

Walker, a former Watsonville patrolman, claims self-defense. He said
he thought Cardenas had a gun. The father of five was unarmed. Police
initially said they found no weapons on the body, but a forensic
investigator later said a knife had been found in the man's pants pocket.

Now a jury must decide whether Walker had good reason to fear that
Cardenas was dangerous, that in the confusing, adrenaline-charged
minutes before the fatal shooting in a downtown San Jose alley, it
was kill or be killed.

But the trial will not focus on Walker alone. It will provide a rare
glimpse into the underside of police work, the planning and execution
of delicate operations and the ramifications of poor communication
between agencies.

The controversial case revolves around three areas of law enforcement
- -- parole, state narcotics and San Jose police -- and the role each
agency played in the tragic event.

Police were critical of state narcotics agents during a grand jury
hearing and are expected to give similar testimony during the trial.

The case is highly unusual in another way: Not since the 1970s has an
officer been charged in Santa Clara County for killing in the line of
duty. That case, involving the police shooting of an unarmed man who
was running away, resulted in acquittal.

"We have in our county squeaky-clean police departments . . . we're
used to excellent training and high professionalism, so this is a
shock to the community that even a neighboring police agency has an
allegation like this," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu.

Walker was indicted after a grand jury inquest -- held in rare public
forum last summer -- during which he testified that he thought the
man he was chasing was fugitive parolee David Gonzales, who was
wanted on a drug violation and was considered dangerous.

"I fired just as soon as I perceived an imminent threat," Walker said
at the time.

If convicted, the 34-year-old former officer could face up to 10
years in state prison with an enhancement for the use of a firearm.

Cardenas' family wants Walker held accountable.

"It affects our entire community. What happened didn't just happen to
my dad," said Regina Cardenas, 27.

The family and their supporters have spent the last year advocating
for justice for the slain man. They've organized marches, handed out
fliers at community events and launched a Web site to promote their cause.

Walker, meanwhile, has been low-key since being placed on routine
administrative leave in August 2004. He's been fully supported by his
superiors at the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, some of whom will be
called to testify about the pursuit and conflicting statements Walker
allegedly made following the shooting.

Jury selection could conclude today, and opening statements could
begin as soon as Thursday.

Although lawyers are being mum about strategy -- citing pre-trial
publicity -- motions argued in court recently offer clues to how the
trial will play out.

As he did during the grand jury hearing, Deputy District Attorney
Lane Liroff will try to cite a series of alleged missteps on the part
of drug agents that led to Cardenas' death.

After getting only a glimpse of a photograph of the man they were
seeking, state agents mistook Cardenas for their target and gave
chase. During the high-speed pursuit, which Liroff called "reckless,"
they lost contact with local police. They became baffled by
unfamiliar streets and alleys in downtown San Jose.

They cornered Cardenas in an alley near the intersection of Fourth
and St. James streets, where Cardenas ditched his van and fled on
foot. Walker claims that as Cardenas was running away, he turned
toward the agent and revealed what looked to be a weapon.

Walker fired into the man's back. Witnesses said Cardenas pleaded for mercy.

"Every step demanding sober caution . . . was missed," Liroff said
during the grand jury hearing, laying blame equally on parole agents
and Department of Justice officials who he said failed to properly
plan the operation.

During preliminary motions, defense attorney Craig Brown failed to
convince Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro, who will preside over the
six week trial, that the actions of other agents were irrelevant to
the case. He accused Liroff of trying to embarrass the agencies.

Navarro also ruled that the jury will not hear evidence of a defense
theory that Cardenas supposedly had a suicide-by-cop fantasy.

But Brown was successful in getting admitted into evidence the
background of the victim, described as a low-level drug dealer and
gang member who was high on methamphetamine when he tried to outrun Walker.

Liroff accused the defense of trying to deflect blame off Walker by
portraying Cardenas in a bad light.

"This is all about making the victim worthwhile to kill," the
prosecutor said during a sometimes-heated court hearing last week.

But Brown countered there were compelling reasons for Cardenas, an
ex-con, to run from police and do whatever he could to avoid going
back to jail "including frightening off his pursuer by pretending to
have a weapon."

Cardenas' killing came on the heels of another controversial police shooting.

A year earlier, in July 2003, a San Jose officer shot a Vietnamese
woman, Bich Cau Thi Tran, as she stood in her kitchen with an Asian
vegetable peeler in her hand. The officer claimed he feared the
hysterical Tran, who had a history of psychiatric problems and had
been prescribed medication. Community outrage ensued. An open grand
jury hearing was held. The officer was not charged, but the family
has filed a civil suit against the officer.