BOY INJURED IN DRUG RAID RECOVERING

Sitting up next to his bed at John Sealy Hospital, Henry Ashford strains to
speak and complains the tube running down a nostril and into his stomach
hurts his throat when he talks.

The 19-year-old has been unable to eat or drink anything since an explosive
diversionary device used by police took part of his large intestine,
punctured a kidney and left a hole in his back that doctors are now trying
to figure out how to close.

"You can't explain it," Ashford said of the pain. "Your whole back is missing."

Ashford may have been guilty of keeping bad company. The two other people
with him are facing

drug charges after police recovered 150 grams -- more than 5 ounces -- of
crack cocaine in the apartment.

But Ashford was by all accounts an innocent bystander, and Department of
Public of Safety narcotics investigators say they don't envision filing
charges against him.

It was Tuesday night when police stormed the island apartment where Ashford
was a guest.

Galveston SWAT team members serving a warrant had reason to believe a
suspected drug dealer inside was armed. Officers recovered a .357-caliber
Magnum revolver in the raid.

Ashford said his friend had the pistol leveled on the door, not knowing the
footsteps coming up the stairs were those of police officers.

"That's what made it a high-risk entry," said Galveston police Chief Robert
Pierce, who added police suspect the occupants of the apartment were
involved in two shootings in recent months.

The situation in the apartment, police say, called for the use of a
flash-bang, a canister grenade designed not to injure but to distract and
disorient with loud boom.

The goal is to avoid bloodshed by giving the police an edge against those
they seek to arrest. Police can descend on stunned opponents less likely to
attack, and less likely to compel authorities to defend themselves with
deadly force.

But this flash-bang somehow came to close to Ashford -- who was sitting on
a couch -- and blew the hole in his back.

Ashford said the blow dazed him. He said he could see but not comprehend.

A SWAT team officer yelling at him to get onto the floor was his welcome
back to reality, Ashford said.

"I didn't want to move I was so hurt," he said. "I kept pleading: 'If you
help me I'll get down. Somebody shot me.'"

Ashford said the officer threw him to the floor.

Police are investigating Ashford's injury. The investigation will be
similar to those in which an officer is involved in a shooting, said
Galveston police Capt. Edward Benevides.

Investigators determined the flash-bang careened off a wall and landed on
the couch where Ashford sat, Benevides said. It is believed Ashford ducked
in an unlucky direction.

Ashford and his family, however, say the device hit him.

The district attorney's office looked into the incident and determined the
injury was the result of an accident, Benevides said.

Patricia Ann Johnson, Henry's mother, said her family planned to file a
lawsuit against the police department to recover medical costs, pain and
suffering and what she believed would be a long-term disability.

Pierce said flash-bangs have caused deaths in Los Angeles and New York.

Police weigh a number of factors in deciding whether a flash-bang was
warranted and safe, Benevides said.

Those factors include whether the suspects are armed and whether children
are present.

In the wake of the raid, Cedrick Spurlock, 21, and Sheree Allen were
charged with possession with intent to distribute and controlled substance.
Spurlock also was charged with theft of a firearm.