WHO IS MIKE BRISENO?

FARMINGTON - Farmington Police Officer Mike Briseno has been called
everything from "a dirty cop" to Police Officer of the Year, depending on
who is asked about the controversial member of the department's gang squad.

Briseno, who has been a Farmington police officer for 17 years, has
repeatedly declined comment.

A request by The Daily Times to interview Briseno for this story was denied
by Police Chief Mike Burridge, who said the decision was his. The chief
said he did not want Briseno to comment due to pending litigation.

Briseno, a graduate of Rio Hondo Police Academy in Whittier, Calif., has
had a storied career that is checkered with allegations of civil rights
allegations.

Burridge defends Briseno's character, recently telling the city council
that officers such as Briseno often receive complaints because of the
nature of their work.

Briseno is a member of the street crimes unit.

This is a "goal-oriented" unit, said police Capt. Bob Bussey.

"They go to the problem of the day ... I can expect a plan coming back to
me on how to solve the problem," Bussey said of officers on that detail.
"They've provided results."

Bussey said Briseno is a "gang expert who knows what is happening on the
street."

According to Burridge, Briseno has made 390 arrests and issued more than
650 tickets while serving on the force. He has received excellent employee
evaluations and has been named police officer of the quarter. Briseno also
has received "11 commendations for outstanding effort and work ethic,"
Burridge noted.

It is not known how many citizen complaints have been filed against Briseno
in Farmington, however, because police and city officials refuse to release
such information, citing reasons of confidentiality and personnel matters.

The Daily Times has contested that stance, saying public complaints against
public officials should be made public.

Career History

Briseno began his career with the Colton, Calif., police department in June
1988.

Briseno left the Colton force in March 1993, less than five months after
being involved in the shooting death of Reynaldo Andrade Gonzalez, a
33-year-old man who hijacked a Greyhound bus, was shot to death while
reportedly wrestling an FBI agent trying to gain control of a shotgun. The
shooting was ruled justifiable by police, according to published reports.

Briseno worked for the Cabazon Tribal Police in Indio, Calif., from October
1993 to February 1996, when he joined the Bloomfield Police Department.

In February 1997, he was named Police Officer of the Year by the Elks
Lodge. Eight months later, however, Briseno was being investigated on 22
allegations of police misconduct.

The investigation came after 200 people signed and delivered a petition to
the Bloomfield Police Department. The petition was circulated by Robert
Sandoval, a private investigator, who was contacted by area residents who
reportedly had problems with Briseno. Those alleged problems included
illegal traffic stops which led to the arrests of several people on drug
possession charges.

"Everybody says I'm after Briseno, but I'm not after Briseno," Sandoval
said recently. "I was getting one call a day from people asking me if I
will help them with Briseno."

Then-police chief Bob Campbell said after receiving the petition, he
initiated an investigation and called on the help of the Farmington Police
Department to look into the matter. Farmington investigators spent more
than 100 hours investigating, conducting interviews and administering lie
detector tests. Briseno was cleared of any wrongdoing.

"I don't think an agency could be more objective or thorough in an
investigation," said Campbell, who is currently the Bloomfield city
manager. "Officer Briseno was exonerated. He's a proactive police officer
serving our communities."

Burridge would echo those sentiments about his officer and did so at a
recent city council meeting, where he said he has complete confidence in
Briseno.

But the officer's efforts came under fire recently by the San Juan County
Libertarian Party, which asked that Briseno be terminated after a jury
found the officer violated the civil rights of a Farmington man.

Past Charges And Case Outcome

This case involved 80-year-old Chester Mitchell of Farmington. Mitchell
filed a civil rights suit in January 2003 saying that Briseno arrested him
without probable cause and entered his home without a search warrant.

The acts occurred Oct. 4, 2002, while Briseno was a Bloomfield officer
assigned to Region II Narcotics.

"At the time they [Region II officers] entered the residence, [Briseno]
lacked consent, a warrant, probable cause and/or exigent circumstances to
enter said residence," the court record stated.

Cocaine was found on the floor of Mitchell's residence, and the elderly man
was arrested. His lawyers argued that the cocaine did not belong to
Mitchell, but to his family members, who had been eating dinner with him.

The jury found that while Briseno did have the right to enter and search
the house, he did not have probable cause to arrest Mitchell.

"They didn't find that [Briseno] acted wantonly or recklessly," Briseno's
attorney Gregory Pelton said. "In a sense, they [the jury] found a
violation of civil rights."

Pelton said this was the second trial concerning Mitchell. The first, which
exonerated Briseno, was thrown out due to jury tampering. He alleged the
case was about attorney fees, which could be awarded to Ronald Adamson and
Joe Romero, Mitchell's lawyers.

"They were hoping to get what they got, a minor violation and then, filing
for attorney fees," Pelton said, adding "I think Mr. Romero and Mr. Adamson
have made a deliberate attempt to go after Mr. Briseno."

Ronald Adamson said in response: "I always make a deliberate attempt to go
after bad police officers and police officers that violate people's civil
rights."

The case caused the San Juan County Libertarian Party call for Briseno's
termination of employment with the Farmington Police Department, where he
has worked for the past three years.

Police stand behind Briseno as more allegations surface "The second trial
found there is a violation of civil rights, no matter how trivial. That's
the bottom line," said Joseph Knight, a Libertarian, who recently wore a
T-shirt that stated: "Officer Briseno is a dirty cop."

At the Aug. 23 city council meeting, Knight dared the police to arrest him
for wearing the shirt and then called for Briseno to be fired.

"The city is still employing a police officer, who has been found to have
violated civil rights, and that is wrong," Knight said. More than 150
Farmington officers, the mayor and Councilors Tommy Roberts, Dan Darnell
and George Sharpe backed the officer.

Mayor Bill Standley said the officer was "too damn good" at his job, while
Probation Officer Bob Bass said Briseno is a "cop's cop."

"This man has a heart this big. He's got more guts than the law allows,"
Bass said.

Det. Frank Dart said Briseno is a hero who climbed on top of the police
department to save a pilot who crashed his airplane into the building's roof.

"He has been built by the things he has had to live through in his law
enforcement career," Dart said.

Susan Rarick of Aztec had a different opinion after Briseno arrested her
son Cody Rarick, who is a convicted drug user. "He [Cody] deserved to go to
jail, but civil liberties are civil liberties," Rarick said.

Her son was arrested July 22, 2004, after Briseno was called to Cody's
Farmington home to investigate "complaints of young girls being harassed,"
municipal court records stated.

Briseno said in the records he saw "in plain view from the front door a
bong, two pipes and a baggy with white residue" which was seized.

Rarick said the officer never had permission to enter her son's home, yet
he testified on the stand during an Aug. 19, 2004 trial that he did not
enter the house to seize the paraphernalia. Also, prior to the trial
Briseno took her son in the hall and "shook him up" prior to his testifying.

"He [Briseno] tried to rattle him by saying he smelled like pot," she said.

Cody Rarick was found guilty, and he requested an internal investigation of
Briseno's actions.

"Our complaint was that he perjured himself and took Cody outside and
rattled him before he testified," she said.

Lt. Doug Kennedy investigated and exonerated Briseno of "harassing" Rarick
outside of the courtroom.

"I discussed the facts of this allegation with members of the District
Attorney's Office, and I was informed Officer Briseno's conduct did not
violate any courtroom ethics or rules of evidence," it was stated in a
letter to Rarick from Kennedy, who summed up his investigation.

District Attorney Lyndy Bennett said he wanted to be left out of this and
said, "You better follow that up. It wasn't me."

Bennett was working in the office as Chief Deputy District Attorney in
2004. Greg Tucker was DA at the time.

Local attorney Arlon Stoker said the alleged actions did not sound like
normal courtroom ethics.

"A witness is required by law to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
If an officer is pressuring that witness to say anything other than the
truth that is intimidation of a witness," Stoker said.

Kennedy did find that Briseno "did not have a search warrant, exigent
circumstances or consent to enter the home." That complaint was sustained.