UNARMED MAN SHOT DEAD BY N.Y. DETECTIVE

NEW YORK, March 16 -- An unarmed man was shot dead early today by an
undercover detective during a fight on a busy Manhattan street,
officials said.

Patrick Dorismond, a security guard, was shot by Detective Anthony
Vasquez as the officer and two others attempted a "buy-and-bust" drug
operation near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, Police
Commissioner Howard Safir said at a news conference.

One of the officers, all Hispanic, approached Dorismond, who was
black, and another man in front of a bar, Safir said.

"He engaged them in a conversation relative to drugs," Safir said at a
news conference.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who also attended the news conference, said
Vasquez, 29, then came to the aid of the officer and his gun discharged.

Dorismond, 25, was hit in the chest and died at a hospital. No drugs
or other contraband were found on his body.

Safir said police were still investigating how the gun went off.
Police could not confirm witness reports that Vasquez was hitting
Dorismond with his service revolver when it went off.