MORE ON THE OREGON CASE

24 shots came from 1 officer in Oregon case Policeman fired until gun
empty, then reloaded and kept firing

One of the officers nobilled in the death of Pedro Oregon Navarro
fired his semiautomatic pistol at the 22-year-old man until the
magazine was empty, then reloaded and continued firing.

In all, Officer David R. Barrera fired 24 of the 33 shots discharged
in Oregon's southwest Houston apartment July 12, according to sources
familiar with the investigation.

Assistant District Attorney Ed Porter confirmed that Barrera fired
most of the shots. While the medical examiner's office could not
determine the exact caliber of the bullets that made the 12 wounds in
Oregon's body, Porter said, three of the four bullets recovered from
the body were fired from Barrera's weapon.

Porter, who was present on the scene a few hours after the shooting --
and reconstructed it during a walk-through with the officers involved
- -- suggested that the bullets that struck Oregon may have been some of
the last shots that the officers fired.

"I strongly suspect that was the case," Porter said.

Richard Mithoff, an attorney representing Oregon's family, said it is
"incomprehensible" that one of the officers paused to reload his weapon.

"They had no grounds to be in the apartment, and no grounds to open
fire," Mithoff said. "And if this is true, there certainly was no
grounds to reload and execute this guy lying on the ground."

Aaron Ruby, a member of the Justice for Pedro Oregon Coalition, said
Barrera's actions could only be termed "homicidal and premeditated,"
and probably explain the numerous bullet holes in Oregon's back.

"If that fact was known to the grand jury, it makes their actions all
the more outrageous," Ruby said. "I believe the people of Houston will
be stunned when they learn of this."

Harris County District Attorney John B. Holmes Jr. said state law
allows police officers to use deadly force if they believe it
necessary for self-defense and can continue shooting "so long as they
reasonably perceive" the threat continues.

"An analogy I use is that if it is OK to kill a guy dead, it is OK to
kill him dead, dead, dead," Holmes said.

Holmes said it is also not uncommon for a police officer involved in a
shooting to have no idea how many shots he fired.

Barrera, a five-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, was
armed with a 9 mm Sig-Sauer semi-automatic pistol loaded with
nylon-coated bullets.

According to the Police Department, after illegally entering Oregon's
apartment with fellow members of the HPD gang task force in an
unsuccessful search for drugs, Barrera and several other officers
chased Oregon to his bedroom and kicked in the locked door. During the
pursuit, Barrera's pistol discharged, striking one of his partners in
the shoulder.

The officers said they believed they were being shot at, and two
officers joined Barrera in firing at Oregon.

Barrera emptied his pistol, paused to reload a new magazine, and
resumed firing, according to prosecutors.

Investigators later determined that Barrera fired a total of 24
rounds.

Barrera's weapon was originally loaded with a standard 16-round
magazine, which held at least 14 rounds. He reloaded with an extended
magazine holding even more rounds. The second magazine was not
emptied, according to sources.

Officers David R. Perkins and Pete A. Herrada fired a total of nine
rounds between them. Both officers were armed with similar .40-caliber
handguns. Perkins carried a Sig-Sauer Model 40 and Herrada was armed
with a Glock Model 23.

Prosecutors said only about 10 seconds elapsed from the time the
shooting began to the time it ended.

Semi-automatic pistols typically are double-action on the first shot,
meaning that pulling the trigger draws the hammer back -- cocking it
- -- and then releases it.

After the first shot, the hammer remains in a cocked position so less
trigger-tension is required to fire the weapon, making it fire
quicker. The officer can also aim the gun more accurately because it
takes less movement of the trigger to discharge shots.

Oregon's body was hit 12 times, nine times in the back, once in the
back of the shoulder, and once in the back of his left hand. In
addition, one shot entered the top of his head, exiting above the right ear.

At least nine shots entered his body at a downward angle, suggesting
he was shot while face-down on the floor. Four bullets were recovered
from Oregon's body, and numerous bullet fragments were found
underneath the carpet beneath the body.

The body was face-down, with his head toward the doorway through which
the police officers were firing.

Attorneys for the Oregon family dispute the police officers' version
of events, and say Oregon was not in the front of the apartment when
police illegally barged in.

"It is my understanding that he was in the bedroom," Mithoff
said.

They also contend that some of the officers' shots were fired through
the bedroom wall, indicating they were blindly firing into the room.

Porter said he has examined numerous crime scenes involving police
shootings during his career and is amazed just how often shots fired
by police officers miss their mark.

"Most people think an officer fires a weapon and someone gets shot,"
Porter said. "Often that is just not the case."

Holmes said the grand jury heard evidence regarding all the shots
fired, the trajectory of the bullets, the position of the officers and
the medical examiner's reports regarding wounds to Oregon's body.

"The specific number of times and the path of the projectiles was
known to the grand jury," Holmes said.

After hearing all the evidence, a grand jury cleared five of the six
officers -- including Barrera -- of all charges. One officer was
charged with a misdemeanor offense of criminal trespass.

Earlier this week, all six officers were fired by Chief C.O. Bradford
for violating the law and ignoring department procedures.

Barrera's attorney did not respond to a request for an
interview.

Rick Dovalina, national president of LULAC, said he is especially
concerned that HPD Internal Affairs found the officers had violated
the law in conducting the raid, but the grand jury had brought no charges.

He renewed his call for Holmes to try to bring charges against the
officers.

"They are both supposed to be looking at the same evidence," Dovalina
said. "Johnny Holmes needs to do the right thing and present the case
to another grand jury."

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady