GROUP MEETS BEFORE EX-OFFICER'S TRESPASS TRIAL IN DEATH OF OREGON

A little more than six months after Houston police officers fatally shot
Pedro Oregon Navarro, members of the Justice for Pedro Oregon Coalition
held their first town hall meeting Saturday.

Oregon was shot 12 times last July in his wrist, shoulder, head and back.
The officers had neither an arrest warrant nor search warrant when they
entered Oregon's apartment in a search for drugs after receiving a tip from
an informant.

No drugs were found, but Oregon was shot. Police said he pointed a gun at
them.

Aaron Ruby, one of the founding members of the coalition, said the Oregon
case was "just the tip of the iceberg" and that the group does not want to
stop its demand for justice.

About 100 people attended the meeting in the gymnasium of Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church, east of downtown. They included activists, relatives of
others killed by police and Houston-area residents.

Houston City Council members Orlando Sanchez and Annise Parker also were
present, as well as League of United Latin American Citizens
representatives Johnny Mata and Frank Alvarez, and staff members of the
Mexican Consulate.

"This is an opportunity for people to come hear about the injustices that
are happening ... who may not be ready for a protest," Ruby said.

"I have never seen anything like the depth of support and outrage that I
have seen in these gatherings ... that cuts across all ethnic groups and
all ages."

Coalition member Rick Coleman invited attendees to a protest that is
planned outside the county Criminal Courts building on Monday, when
prosecuting attorney Edward Porter is scheduled to discuss whether Oregon's
brother will testify at the trial of then-police Officer James R. Willis.

Coleman said that the coalition has planned to protest each court date
associated with the "farce of a trial."

Willis was the only officer indicted by the grand jury that investigated
the shooting last year.

Willis, who was the first police officer to enter Oregon's home, has been
charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor.