Two cleared in no-knock raid killing

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Feb 5, 2000 | by The Associated Press

DENVER - Two police officers were cleared Friday of wrongdoing in the killing of a man during a no-knock raid at the wrong house, while a third was charged with perjury.

Officer Joseph Bini, 31, was accused of lying on the affidavit for a search warrant for the home where Ismael Mena lived, said Jefferson County District Attorney Dave Thomas, appointed special prosecutor in the investigation.

Two other officers were justified in shooting Mena when he pointed a weapon at them, said Thomas.

The warrant Bini prepared listed Mena's house but the correct target was a suspected drug house next door.

"The charge of first-degree perjury basically relates to an individual, in this case Joseph Bini, making what we have alleged are false statements, under oath, in official proceedings, knowing that those statements are false," Thomas said.

Bini faces a first-degree perjury charge and has been suspended without pay. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison.

Mena, 45, a Mexican immigrant, was shot eight times Sept. 29 when a Denver police SWAT team raided the house where he lived with several other people. Officers said Mena, using his bedroom door to shield most of his body, pointed a handgun at officers, who retreated to the upstairs hallway after an initial encounter.

Thomas said it appears one officer fired seven rounds and another fired two rounds. Mena apparently fired three rounds.

Police later determined they raided the wrong house.

The shooting prompted calls by friends, family and the Mexican government for a federal investigation.

The raid also spawned accusations of police mistakes and cover- ups, with a veteran policewoman alleging that she was forced to falsify documents to make it look like there had been previous problems at Mena's house.

Authorities have said Bini, a neighborhood police officer, obtained the search warrant from Denver County Judge Raymond Satter. Bini swore in the affidavit that an informant bought $20 worth of cocaine from two men at the house where Mena lived.

No drugs were found in Mena's system or in the house, and neighbors have said they never saw any drug activity there.

Thomas' announcement did not quiet allegations about police actions. A spokesman for the Justice for Mena Committee said the group will hold a news conference today.

"It's what we've been saying for the last couple of weeks," LeRoy Lemos said. "Joseph Bini is being made a sacrificial lamb."