Pubdate: Mon, 26 Oct 1998
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Copyright: 1998 Houston Chronicle
Author: LISA TEACHEY

OFFICERS KILL DRUG SUSPECT AFTER CHASE

A man suspected of buying or selling drugs near downtown Sunday was shot and
killed by seven Houston police officers after leading them on a chase into
Stafford.

The man, whose name was not available, was taken to Hermann Hospital, where
he was pronounced dead. A passenger, who bailed out before the chase began,
was injured and taken to Ben Taub Hospital with cuts and scrapes.

Houston police spokesman Fred King said two officers spotted the men in a
black truck about 5:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of Bagby. The officers
believed the men were involved in a narcotics transaction and were going to
arrest them.

The passenger ran from the vehicle and was chased on foot by one of the
officers.

The passenger later told police the driver told him, "Get out or I'll kill
you."

Meanwhile, the other officer pursued the driver of the truck onto the
Southwest Freeway.

The officer, joined by other patrol units, chased the suspect nearly 18
minutes about 15 miles into Stafford, where the driver tried to exit onto
Corporate Drive, then veered back through the grass onto the freeway. The
driver lost control and crashed into a guardrail.

The officer who first approached the vehicle after the crash told
authorities the driver grabbed for the officer's weapon.

The officer yelled, "Gun, gun!" and the other officers backed away from the
truck.

The officers said that as the driver got out of the vehicle, it appeared he
had something shiny in his hands, and seven of them fired their weapons at
him.

It was not clear, late Sunday, how many bullets struck the driver.

The incident caused traffic to back up along the outbound lanes of the
Southwest Freeway at Corporate for more than four hours.

The shooting is being investigated by the Houston police homicide and
internal affairs divisions as well as the Harris County District Attorney's
Office.

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Checked-by: Don Beck