NARCOTICS AGENT WALKER FOUND NOT GUILTY

Raucous Scuffle Occurs Outside Court As Protesters Scream at Defense Attorney

A jury this morning found state narcotics officer Mike Walker not
guilty of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting Rodolfo "Rudy"
Cardenas -- touching off a brief, but raucous scuffle outside the San
Jose courtroom.

As defense attorney Craig Brown tried to address reporters after the
verdict, about two dozen protesters, some carrying signs bearing
photos of Cardenas, encircled him screaming "no justice, no peace"
and "murderer."

Though the protesters drowned him out, Brown kept on trying to
speak.

Sheriff's deputies and plain clothes Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement
agents then tried to push the protesters away and form a human
barrier. One protester, a woman, fell to the ground and could be heard
saying "get your hands off me."

When Brown left, the BNE agents formed a shield around
him.

Neither Walker nor prosecutor Lane Liroff addressed reporters
immediately after the verdict.

Walker, 34, was the first state agent to be put on trial for killing
someone in the line of duty.

On Feb. 17, 2004, state agents were asked to assist a parole agent in
doing surveillance on David Gonzales, a parolee with gang ties who had
failed to report a change of address. As they staked out Gonzales'
14th Street location, Cardenas drove by and caught Walker's attention.
Walker followed Cardenas, believing he was the target, and a wild
vehicle pursuit ensued.

Walker caught up with the father of five at a North Fourth Street
retirement home, where Cardenas ditched his van, fled down an alleyway
and scaled a chain-link fence. Walker followed and, stopping at the
fence, shot the 43-year-old San Jose man in the back.

The agent claimed self-defense. He insisted he saw a gun in Cardenas'
hands and that the man appeared ready to engage in a gun battle.
Cardenas was unarmed. Although police said they found a small folding
knife in his front pants pocket, the discovery came a day after the
killing and led some to speculated whether the evidence was planted.

The case drew outrage from a cross-section of the community,
particularly because 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 said 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. The family in
November settled a civil suit against the officer for $1.8 million.