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...
...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.
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