San Jose Police Officer who Shot Dead Unarmed Latino Man on Trial.
Monday, August 9, 2004 at 06:16PM
TheSpook
The plainclothes state narcotics and parole
agents staking out a San Jose house were looking for a parole
violator who was at least 7 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier
than Rodolfo "Rudy" Cardenas, 43, a San Jose construction worker,
who drove up in a van to visit the wanted man. But when Cardenas sped
off for unknown reasons, he was chased by agents in unmarked
vehicles and later on foot. As Cardenas ran around a building
into a parking lot, narcotics agent Michael Walker allegedly
fired through a fence, hitting the man in the back. Most
troubling, the dead man's family and ambulance records say, after
the shooting, paramedics were held back by police for five
critical minutes as Cardenas was bleeding to death. Walker said he shot
Cardenas, who was running away from him, only after the man turned
slightly toward him, and Walker thought he saw a gun in his hands. No
firearm was ever found on Cardenas or at the scene. San Jose police
officers who patted down the father of five right after he was shot
also did not find a weapon. But later, a crime scene investigator going
through Cardenas' bloody clothes found a folding four-inch knife with a
black handle in his left, front pants pocket. Walker said that could
have been the object he mistook for a gun. [more]and [more] Pictured above: Rudy Cardenas.
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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