7 OFFICERS CLEARED IN SHOOTING

Driver was slain after freeway chase

RICHMOND -- A Fort Bend County grand jury nobilled seven Houston police
officers Monday in the death of a suspect who was shot 14 times after a
chase down the Southwest Freeway.

After about 5 1/2 hours of testimony that involved six witnesses, grand
jurors cleared Sgt. Antonio Guzman, 40, and Officers Ruston K. Alsbrooks,
38; M.J. Manuel, 26; Tony N. Nguyen, 29; Leopoldo Rubio-Ronso, 27; Tony
Tomeo, 34; and S.W. Wilkins, 34.

The officers shot and killed Derek Jason Kaeseman, 24, on Oct. 25 after a
lengthy chase that began near downtown Houston and ended in Fort Bend County.

The Harris County medical examiner's report, which lists Kaeseman's death
as a homicide, stated that 59 shell casings were found at the scene and
that Kaeseman suffered 14 bullet wounds, including three in the back.

All of the shots that hit Kaeseman were fired from "distant" range,
according to the autopsy report, but no definition for "distant" was given.

The seven officers are still subject to a Houston Police Department
internal affairs investigation but have been performing their regular
duties, said HPD spokesman Robert Hurst.

"Preliminary information showed there was nothing that was perceived as
wrongdoing on the part of the officers," Hurst said.

He declined further comment because of the investigation and also said that
Chief C.O. Bradford would not comment while the investigation is in progress.

Outside the grand jury room, the dead man's mother, Susan Hartnett, 48, a
paralegal from Houston, was supported by members of the Justice for Pedro
Oregon Coalition, a group formed after Houston officers shot and killed
Oregon in a botched drug raid on July 12.

The officers involved in that shooting also were nobilled except for one
who was indicted on a trespassing charge.

"They shot at my kid 59 times," Hartnett said. "I would like to see the
officers be accountable for their actions. They murdered my son. That's
like giving them a license to kill. They're acting like my kid's life
doesn't matter."

Her attorney, Vicki Pinak, said civil action will follow the final internal
affairs report on the case.

"I'm quite upset, too," Pinak said. "I was very disappointed.

"We think there's a lot more to it," she said. "I just know the truck looks
like a Bonnie and Clyde scene. There's no doubt about it that it was
unreasonable force. From the witness statements, I'm just appalled."

Fort Bend County Assistant District Attorney Felipe Rendon said grand
jurors heard a balanced presentation of the independent investigations by
Houston police as well as by Stafford police, in whose jurisdiction the
shooting occurred.

Prosecutors did not make a recommendation on what action to take, said
District Attorney John Healey.

Kaeseman died at Hermann Hospital a short time after the chase ended at
Corporate Drive and the Southwest Freeway.

Houston police said the chase started after two officers saw what appeared
to be a drug deal between two men in the 2200 block of Bagby near downtown.
After the passenger bailed out, Kaeseman led police on a chase, throwing
things from his pickup and ramming a patrol car near Bellaire Boulevard,
Houston police said.

The medical examiner's report said the passenger was a male prostitute
forced from the truck by Kaeseman.

Officers said they fired at Kaeseman after he crashed his truck and was
climbing out of the passenger side holding something shiny, which later was
found to be a can opener.

The autopsy, which indicated no gun was found on or around Kaeseman, also
showed traces of cocaine in his blood and urine. Kaeseman had been involved
in a car chase with police in July 1996 and was placed on 180 days'
probation for fleeing a police officer, records show.

His mother said he had suffered severe injuries, including brain damage, in
a crash four years ago in which he fled from a Manvel police car and went
off a bridge. She said he had just gotten through with years of
rehabilitation and was working two jobs, one at a bookstore and one for an
underground sprinkler system.

She said he fled the officers on Oct. 25 because he feared police.

Hartnett said her son didn't have time to make a drug deal. He had left her
home in southwest Houston just a half hour before the shooting, she said,
and did not have time to go downtown before the chase.

"They killed my baby, and they think it's OK? I mean, Merry Christmas,"
Hartnett said.

Toylean Johnson, a member of the Pedro Oregon Coalition, said the nobills
did not surprise her.

"I think it's tragic," she said.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski