POLICE SHOOT AN UNARMED DRUG SUSPECT IN BRONX

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Undercover police shot dead an unarmed drug suspect in
the Bronx on Wednesday, less than a week after four New York plainclothes
officers were acquitted of murder for firing 41 times at an unarmed African
immigrant.

Police, who hastily called a news conference near the scene of the latest
shooting, were quick to point to differences between the shooting and the
death a year ago of Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo.

Police said Wednesday's shooting occurred when an undercover, four-man team
of housing police were conducting a narcotics operation and entered the
lobby of a building where several people were gathered. One fled up a
stairwell and was chased by an officer, who struggled with him on a
landing. One round was fired from the officer's gun, and the 23-year-old
black man was pronounced dead at the scene. The man, who was not
identified, had what police called "an extensive criminal history,"
including several arrests for drugs, burglary and disorderly conduct, and
was on parole. No weapon was found on him, but police said several packets
of what was suspected to be heroin were found in his possession. The police
team consisted of one white, one black and two Hispanic officers, officials
said. Scores of people gathered as news of the shooting spread, with many
expressing outrage that another member of an ethnic minority had been
killed by police in New York's Bronx borough.

Community leaders at the scene appealed for calm, and no unrest was
reported as of late evening. The shooting of Diallo in the Bronx a year ago
by four white officers sparked accusations of racism against the city's
police.

The officers involved were acquitted last Friday of all charges in a trial
that was moved to upstate Albany, after a ruling that the men could not get
a fair trial in New York City. The verdict surprised many New Yorkers and
sparked demonstrations by thousands of people.