Dec. 27 - Few of us will ever experience police brutality. Many of us will cruise through life with little more than a few traffic tickets. But, like the Supreme Court, we know brutality when we see it. And we saw it on Channel 7 last August when Denver police pistol-whipped and kicked two drug-dealing suspects after they had surrendered at the end of a chase through rush-hour traffic. The suspects clearly were criminals - if not for carrying and trying to sell drugs to federal agents, at least for eluding police. [continues 435 words]
In The Past Year: The NAACP accused the Denver Police Department of fostering a "culture of violence and lawlessness'' that allows officers to commit brutality against citizens of all races without fear of reprimand. A group of Hispanic police officers accused the department of nepotism, inadequate efforts to recruit minorities and "an oppressive management style'' that has destroyed morale. A federal court jury determined that in the 1996 shooting death of Jeffrey Truax, Denver police officers had violated the victim's civil rights. The courts also criticized the department for its "deliberate indifference with respect to the training of its police officers as to the use of deadly force.'' Soon after, a 21-year veteran of the department filed suit, claiming that after he gave his critical court testimony in the Truax case he was dumped from the SWAT team and exiled to a less important position in the police academy. [continues 366 words]
Mayor Wellington Webb has reacted swiftly and appropriately to a report that exonerated several Denver police officers from accusations of excessive force after their conduct was recorded by an airborne TV crew four months ago. It's good to hear the mayor is still on the job. After months of watching Webb on satellite TV from Washington, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Japan, England, France, Germany and the African continent, it was reassuring to hear that he still drops by City Hall. [continues 303 words]
Backers of a ballot initiative to legalize industrial hemp have decided to shelve their proposal for this year. According to a news release from Colorado Hemp, backers don't want to have the industrialhemp measure on the same ballot as a measure to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. The medicinal marijuana proposal was placed on the 2000 ballot after it was determined that the former Secretary of State Vikki Buckley had incorrectly kept it off the 1998 ballot. The language of the industrial-hemp proposal had distinguished hemp from marijuana by the content of THC, the chemical component that makes people "high" when they smoke marijuana. [end]
I have a problem with no-knock raids being justified on the basis of evidence such as "guns, cellular phones, cash, scales and other drug-related items," as noted in a recent article. The police seem to have made the possession of items commonly found in many homes evidence of criminal activity. For example, guns or weapons. Although I don't own a gun, I know many people who do. Some own several for hunting, sport or collection. They own them legally and do not commit crimes with them. Why should the legal act of having a weapon in a home be a presumption of criminal activity? [continues 171 words]
When a special prosecutor cleared Denver police last week in the televised beating of two drug suspects, some observers said neither police nor prosecutors should investigate police violence allegations. That's a criticism heard often since the police shooting of Jeffrey Truax. This time, officers chased two suspects and beat them Aug. 23 as KMGH-TV, Channel 7, filmed about 30 seconds of the events. Police first are investigated by internal affairs, then by the district attorney. This time, the case went to the Arapahoe County DA because of a conflict of interest in the Denver office. [continues 488 words]
GOLDEN - Ever since he was a boy, Vincent Hamm dreamed of becoming president of the United States. Now 40 and the owner of a small computer consulting business, Hamm continues to pursue the dream from his Golden home, which doubles as the "Hamm for President'' campaign headquarters. Hamm, a Democrat, ran in the 1996 New Hampshire primary and received 72 votes - compared with 76,754 for President Clinton. He was not discouraged by the lopsided showing. "I was very pleased. My goal when I woke up the morning after the primary was not to have a zero next to my name,'' he said. "I was just amazed at the number of votes I received.'' [continues 452 words]
Dec. 26 - Let us suppose that a gang of drug dealers had broken into a house, surprised an occupant who tried to defend himself, and then shot him dead. There would be an outcry that the death penalty wasn't nearly harsh enough for such scum. But when the police do it, it's just an accident - some of that unavoidable collateral damage in the all-important War on Drugs - and if there's any outcry, it hasn't been loud enough to notice. Nobody's marching in the street. [continues 768 words]
Suburban Police Tougher In Screening New Recruits The restrictions that limit anyone who experimented with drugs -- or even abused them -- from becoming a Denver police officer are less severe than elsewhere in Colorado and the nation. In fact, some suburban departments' rules on past drug use are so strict that people intent on wearing a uniform, badge and gun belt sometimes don't even bother applying, suburban police officials said. Not in Denver, where the Civil Service Commission that hires officers revealed that two of every three newly hired candidates admitted to some kind of drug use. Suburban departments say that number is closer to one of every five of their new hires. [continues 1042 words]
Any recovering drug addict with long-time sobriety will tell you the first year of recovery was a nightmare. Most will concede that their brains were like scrambled eggs until well after that first year. And the urge to return to drugs didn't even begin to abate until the first anniversary was reached. That's why the Denver Police Department shouldn't be operating under Civil Service Commission rules that allow hiring cops who used drugs one year earlier. The Colorado State Patrol and Boulder and Colorado Springs police forces all require five years of clean time from hard drugs -- and three years from marijuana, the most innocuous of illegal drugs. Englewood won't look at anyone who has used drugs within the past five years. [continues 278 words]
Court records reveal gaffes by government Two months ago, the federal government made front-page headlines when it announced it had dismantled the Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club on various weapons and drug charges. "We have disrupted, dismantled and destroyed a major outlaw motorcycle gang," U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland said at an Oct. 8 news conference. But now that the case has moved into the courtroom, it appears the government not only failed to destroy the gang, it committed a number of mistakes along the way. [continues 1241 words]
What concerns me the most about the shooting of Ismael Mena during a no-knock raid on his Denver home is why we are doing such searches at all? For the sake of the "war on drugs", we are trashing the Constitution, destroying people's lives, killing innocent people and spending billions of dollars a year on a "war" we cannot win. The most destructive drug we have is alcohol. Yet we found during Prohibition that making something illegal only increases the crime and violence associated with it. It didn't work for alcohol and it certainly isn't working for drugs. If drugs are legalized, the crime will diminish considerably. there are consequences from drug use, but these are minor compared to the damage we do to society by trying to enforce laws that will not work. Mark A Cottrell Westminster [end]
I'm not surprised that the war on drugs has claimed another innocent victim. Sadly, this will go on until people like the timid folks on the Denver Post' editorial board wake up and realize that the war on drugs needs to end and become willing to say it. Since 1971, Libertarians have recognized that your choices are clear: Either suffer more killings of innocent people and the increasing stupidity of a police state, or re-legalize drugs. David Aitken Denver [end]
Police Went To 'Wrong House' Denver Mayor Wellington Webb said Thursday that police blundered in a "no-knock" drug raid that ended in the death of a father of nine. "It was the wrong house," Webb said during an interview with talk show host Mike Rosen on 850-KOA. However, Webb spokesman Andrew Hudson said the mayor does not have inside knowledge of the Denver police internal investigation into the no-knock raid. "His comments are reflecting the community's concerns, and ultimately the investigation will determine whether it was the wrong house," Hudson said. "The investigation will tell that for sure." [continues 387 words]
Mexican National's Death Raises Civil-rights Concerns The FBI launched an investigation Wednesday into the death of a Mexican migrant shot repeatedly by Denver police in a no-knock raid. FBI agents will focus on possible criminal civil-rights violations, said Christine DiBartolo, U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington. Police Chief Tom Sanchez responded: "We're open to scrutiny. U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland formally requesting an investigation Wednesday afternoon after conferring with Justice Department officials in Washington. Such requests require federal officials to follow up with a probe. [continues 709 words]
One other recruit in the current police academy class has a history of drug abuse comparable to that of Ellis "Max" Johnson, whose appointment ignited a furor after it was opposed by police commanders. Two-thirds of the 35-member class admitted past drug use, Denver Civil Service Commissioners revealed last week in response to criticism of Johnson's appointment. Documents released Monday by the commission under an Open Records Act request from the Denver Rocky Mountain News show that 19 of the 24 recruits admitting drug use list only random or long-ago smoking of marijuana. [continues 412 words]
"Three times in college.'' "On a cruise ship off the island of Dominica.'' "Party. Tried it. Didn't like it. Never again.''These are typical responses among Denver Police Academy recruits to a background question about drug offenses. While 24, or two-thirds, of Denver's 35 police trainees have admitted to using illegal drugs, the vast majority did so experimentally - generally having tried marijuana or hashish a few times with friends in high school, college or at parties. However, application records obtained by The Denver Post show two of those 24 recruits acknowledge more extensive drug histories. By far the most extensive is that of Ellis Johnson, whose controversial hiring despite his longtime and varied drug use has made headlines the past several weeks. [continues 576 words]
Can anyone in hindsight blame Ismael Mena for his actions? If I were home asleep after working all night and heard my front door crashing in and splintering from a forced entry, I too would have grabbed a weapon to defend myself and my home. Add to this the confusion of being new to this country and seeing several men dressed in black and carrying weapons bursting in, and any one of us would have done the same thing as Mr. Mena. Is the war on drugs more important than our Constitution and Bill of Rights? Evidently, it is in Denver. E. Robert Schroeder Aurora [end]
I don't know how the rest of Denver feels, but I was outraged at the Dec. 3 story "Prosecutor named in no-knock raid." The issue is whether "there was perjury in the application for a warrant." We are to feel sorry for the poor police (who shot the man dead in his own bedroom after violently breaking into the wrong house) for their "monstrous (psychological) burden" in taking an innocent man's life? Oh, please. Isn't it the victim Ismael Mena, father of nine, we should feel sorry for? [continues 104 words]
Is the war on drugs more important than our Constitution and Bill of Rights? Evidently, it is in Denver. E. Robert Schroeder Aurora [end]
The current furor over the no-knock raid resulting in the killing of a citizen by Denver police officers will be a good thing if it causes all levels of government to rethink this unwise policy of invading homes. I hate illegal drugs with a passion and want the government to wage a real war on those who produce and sell them. A good place to start would be in sealing the U.S.-Mexican border, over which most of those drugs travel. [continues 182 words]
Antonio Hernandez Tovilla thought he was under siege by robbers when six heavily armed men burst into his room. "I was ready to tell them, 'Take my television; take my watch. I got $100 in my wallet. Take that, too. Just please let me live,"' the 22-year-old remembered. The men had to be robbers, Hernandez thought, because he doesn't remember them shouting "Police!" or "Policia!" "They had black masks, and you could only see their eyes," he said. [continues 1263 words]
It's no surprise that the FBI has agreed to investigate the Denver police handling of a Sept. 29 no-knock raid in which a Mexican immigrant was shot to death. U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland formally requested the investigation Wednesday after conferences with Department of Justice officials. The same day, Mexico's consul general, Carlos Barros, had denounced the drug raid in which 45-year-old Ismael Mena, a father of nine, was killed. Police found no evidence of drugs. [continues 428 words]
DENVER -- As a debate over the growing use of behavioral drugs for children intensifies across the country, the Colorado Board of Education has passed a resolution meant to discourage teachers from recommending prescription drugs like Ritalin and Luvox for students. The resolution, the first of its kind in the country, carries no legal weight. But it urges teachers and other school personnel to use discipline and instruction to overcome problem behavior in the classroom rather than encourage parents to put their children on drugs commonly prescribed for attention deficit and hyperactive disorders. [continues 940 words]
Two-thirds of current class admit past use, say officials under fire for one recruit's history Two-thirds of Denver's current crop of police recruits admitted past drug use, the city's top public safety officials revealed Wednesday. Safety Manager Butch Montoya and Civil Service Commission members made the revelation while defending the hiring of a recruit with a history of drug abuse and other problems. Montoya decided to put recruit Ellis Johnson into the academy class despite opposition from Police Chief Tom Sanchez and others who examined the 40-year-old's admissions of heavy prior drug use. [continues 708 words]
Dec. 16 - More than two-thirds of Denver's current crop of police cadets have admitted to past use of illegal drugs. City safety officials revealed that statistic Wednesday in an effort to defend the controversial recruitment of cadet Ellis "Max" Johnson, a confessed thief with an extensive drug history. Of 34 cadets currently training at the Denver Police Academy, 23 - including Johnson - acknowledged using illegal drugs or misusing prescriptions more than one year before applying to the department. And other cadet classes show similarly high numbers. Fifty-nine percent of candidates eligible for the March 2000 training session admitted past drug use, as did 61 percent of applicants being considered for the July 2000 class. [continues 630 words]
Denver officials retreated into silence Thursday as they launched a high-level investigation into the appointment of a police recruit with an extensive drug use history. City attorneys briefed the City Council's Public Safety Committee in a secret morning meeting. Afterward, they disclosed that the mayor's office, the city attorney, the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Safety are investigating the hiring of Ellis Johnson. Both the commission and Department of Safety would also be the focus of the investigation. [continues 521 words]
Thank you for publishing letters expressing outrage over the death of an innocent man who was killed when the Denver police "mistakenly" stormed his house in a search for drugs. Ismael Mena no longer will be able to provide the American dream for his family, a dream he worked hard to secure. He's another casualty in our insane war on drugs. As in any war, sacrifices are made, and we as a country have sacrificed much. We have sacrificed our right to due process of law. We are no longer innocent until proven guilty -- not when the DEA and co-conspiritor agencies can jail anyone suspected of drug possession, confiscate their property, sell the property and keep the proceeds. All prior to conviction or the accused's day in court. [continues 213 words]
Union Leader Calls For Standards Review Denver city attorneys and the police department's internal affairs bureau have launched investigations into why an admitted thief with an extensive drug history was recruited into the Denver Police Academy. The head of Denver's police union also on Thursday called for a review of the standards by which police brass accept new officers. "It's just hard for me to believe that this guy is the best that Denver has to offer," said Mike Stack, president of the Denver Police Protective Association. "It certainly raises questions about how people are scrutinized before they come on this police force." [continues 495 words]
Warrant For Search In Which Man Died Wasn't Justified, Lawyer Says The American Civil Liberties Union slammed Denver officials Monday for authorizing a "no-knock" drug raid in which a father of nine was killed. "If the government officials who authorized the warrant had followed the law, Ismael Mena would be alive today," said Mark Silverstein, the ACLU's legal director in Colorado. Silverstein said there wasn't enough information to justify a warrant, let alone a no-knock warrant where officers force their way in and then announce themselves. [continues 522 words]
As in any war, sacrifices are made, and we as a country have sacrificed much. We have sacrificed our right to due process of law. We are no longer innocent until proven guilty -- not when the DEA and co-conspiritor agencies can jail anyone suspected of drug possession, confiscate their property, sell the property and keep the proceeds. All prior to conviction or the accused's day in court. We have sacrificed our right to believe in a punishment that fits the crime. Not when possession of a small amount of a controlled substance can result in life or near-life sentences with no chance of parole. [continues 170 words]
Dec. 9 - A growing number of applicants for police jobs admit having used drugs - a big problem given the shrinking pool of people who want law-enforcement careers, local officials say. It's a national problem, they say. "We have very, very few candidates who don't have prior usage,'' said Ellen Reath, a member of the Denver Civil Service Commission, which tests and screens applicants. Paul Torres, the commission's executive director, estimated up to 70 percent of the applicants for police jobs in Denver admit to some type of illegal drug use. [continues 127 words]
County Commissioners Approve Grant; Danish Objects To 'War On Drugs' The Boulder County Drug Task Force got the OK on Tuesday to apply for a federal grant to continue its crackdown on drugs next year, but one commissioner again objected to the agency's work. "I'm no longer voting for the War on Drugs," Commissioner Paul Danish said. The county's drug task force was formed in 1998 to attack street-level dealing and the distribution and manufacture of illicit drugs. [continues 329 words]
Many thanks to those involved in reporting the killing of an innocent citizen by Denver SWAT officers during an alleged no-knock drug raid at the wrong address. Unfortunately, this has become a weekly occurrence across America, as law enforcement and the judicial system rush to their elusive victory in the "War On Drugs." But drugs were not the victim here, an innocent citizen was. So, is it a "War On Drugs" or a "War On People"? Had Ismael Mena been in possession of a small quantity of cocaine, would that have justified the wasting of taxpayers' resources to such a degree or authorize law enforcement to act as judge, jury and executioner, all for someone selling $20 worth of cocaine to a consenting adult, who was actively searching for the substance? [continues 94 words]
Denver police are breaking more doors to search for drugs. And most of the time they are finding them, as well as guns, cellular phones, cash, scales and other drug-related items, court records show. The department's use of immediate-entry search warrants came under scrutiny last week as an investigation began into whether police raided the right house in a Sept. 29 raid that left a man dead. Last year, Denver's Metro SWAT officers executed 148 immediate-entry searches, mostly in cases where police were looking for evidence of narcotics. [continues 515 words]
Officially, Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter is having a special prosecutor look into the police shooting of Ismael Mena because one of his investigators is the brother of Mark Haney, an officer at the shooting. That's reason enough, especially since the investigator, Tom Haney, is a former Denver officer himself. But an outside prosecutor would probably be a good idea anyway, considering the sensitivity of the case and the passions it has stirred in the city. This investigation deserves more than the routine check that follows police shootings. [continues 343 words]
Soon, I'm told, Boulder police will take the plunge and stop teaching fifth graders about drugs. If they do, let's hope Boulder's a true example for the rest of the country, as our leaders so often profess us to be. And let's hope that finally, cops will be cops again and take themselves from our elementary schools. "We're seriously looking at removing the drug curriculum from schools entirely," says Sergeant Terence Harmon, who heads Boulder's five-member Community Services Unit. "By next September it will likely be gone." As a result, Boulder public schools will crank out fewer drug addicts. Drug education in the schools is a proven failure. At best it achieves no good. At worst, say the critics, it leads kids to drug abuse. [continues 1555 words]
DENVER -- Police have changed their policy on so-called no-knock search warrants because one man was killed in an apparently unfounded raid. Ismael Mena, 45, was shot eight times by Denver SWAT officers during a Sept. 29 raid. Officers said they found Mena in a shooting stance, pointing a gun at officers and refusing to lower it. Mena's son, Heriberto Mena, said his father's friends and neighbors think he may have thought he was protecting himself against an intruder. Police and the Denver district attorney's office are investigating. Under the new policy, a police supervisor must now approve all requests for search warrants written by street officers. [end]
DENVER (AP) - Police have changed their policy on so-called no-knock search warrants because one man was killed in an apparently unfounded raid. Ismael Mena, 45, was shot eight times by Denver SWAT officers during a Sept. 29 raid. Officers said they found Mena in a shooting stance, pointing a gun at officers and refusing to lower it. Mena's son, Heriberto Mena, said his father's friends and neighbors think he may have thought he was protecting himself against and intruder. [end]
No Drugs Were Found At Home Where Man Was Shot To Death Denver police Tuesday defended a no-knock raid on a suspected crack house in the face of neighbors' claims that cops may have hit the wrong place. However; a lawyer for the family of a man shot to death during the Sept.29 raid said he is evaluating the case for a potential claim against the city. "In view of the new information, at this point, it's very confusing," said attorney Robert Maes. [continues 306 words]
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. [continues 612 words]
News 4, as it is known in the modern age of "branding" products like toilet tissue, cat food, cars and TV news, has a terrific story on its 10 o'clock 'casts this week. A father of nine children was shot to death by Denver SWAT officers by mistake. It's not that they didn't shoot to kill. They came armed and ready to fire, they crashed into the man's home under the authority of a "no-knock" warrant, they ran into Ismael Mena's upstairs bedroom and they gunned him down with eight bullets. [continues 440 words]
Nov. 30 - Did Denver police target the wrong house in a "no-knock" drug raid in which they shot a man to death? And if so, did they raid that house because of falsified information on a police affidavit? Those are among the questions being asked in the police and district attorney's investigation into the Sept. 29 raid at 3738 High St. in northeast Denver. Ismael Mena, 45, was shot eight times by police officers when he reportedly refused to drop a pistol he was pointing at SWAT officers who had just broken in the front door of his home. Mena died at the scene. [continues 420 words]
DENVER -- As a debate over the growing use of behavioral drugs for children intensifies across the country, the Colorado Board of Education has passed a resolution meant to discourage teachers from recommending prescription drugs such as Ritalin and Luvox for students. The resolution carries no legal weight. But as the first of its kind in the nation, it urges teachers and other school personnel to use discipline and instruction to overcome problem behavior in the classroom, rather than to encourage parents to put their children on drugs that are commonly prescribed for attention-deficit and hyperactive disorders. [continues 536 words]
DENVER -- A resolution recently passed by the Colorado Board of Education to discourage teachers from recommending behavioral drugs like Ritalin and Luvox has intensified a national debate over the growing use of prescription drugs for children. The resolution, the first of its kind in the country, carries no legal weight. But it urges teachers and other school personnel to use discipline and instruction to overcome problem behavior in the classroom, rather than to encourage parents to put their children on drugs that are commonly prescribed for attention deficit and hyperactive disorders. [continues 1489 words]
The voters in California, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of marijuana for medical reasons. It hasn't made any difference to the Drug Enforcement Administration. To the DEA, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, and, therefore, must be strictly regulated by the federal government. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 also listed peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus button, as a Schedule I drug. But Congress exempted the Native American Church from the prohibition against the use of peyote. Members of NAC use peyote as a sacrament. [continues 961 words]
A parade of experts appeared before a group of legislators Tuesday to point accusatory fingers at psychotropic medications, such as Ritalin and Luvox, claiming a connection between the drugs and an epidemic of school shootings. Tuesday's hearing coincides with a drive before the state Board of Education to pass a resolution forbidding schools from making parents put disruptive children on Ritalin. The board will hear additional testimony today and is expected to vote on the resolution Thursday. Several speakers Tuesday hinted at a sinister alliance of pharmaceutical companies and health professionals to prescribe the drugs for unruly school kids. Some said attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, for which the drugs often are prescribed, was an illness made up by the psychiatric profession. [continues 637 words]
The Colorado State Board of Education diluted a resolution that originally assailed the use of psychiatric drugs down to meaningless pablum Thursday before adopting it 6-to-1. But the board's action, coupled with an impromptu and ill-starred legislative hearing Tuesday, where self-styled "experts" from the Church of Scientology berated the medications, still risks stigmatizing troubled children and discouraging them from getting the help they need. The fact that suicidal Columbine High School killer Eric Harris was taking the drug Luvox has prompted hysterical charges that the drug caused that massacre and similar killings elsewhere. [continues 327 words]
The practice of prescribing Ritalin and other psychoactive drugs to children is widespread -- and that's just about the only statement on the subject that almost everybody agrees with. Beyond lies controversy: Is medication the appropriate treatment for children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder? What are the long-term effects? Are too many children being diagnosed incorrectly? Some people even question whether ADD is a real disease. Such uncertainly about a topic of great concern to so many families -- by some estimates, 4 million children, most of them boys, take Ritalin - -- is reason enough for Rep. Penn Pfiffner, R-Lakewood, to have organized Tuesday's legislative hearing on ADD. It presented differing viewpoints and endorsed none; it was informative, and that's the purpose of hearings. [continues 357 words]
Inside Colorado
