Pubdate: Tue, 18 Oct 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Yomi S. Wronge
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

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.
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