BROWN DISTURBED BY SHOOTING, HAS FAITH IN HPD

Lee P. is "disturbed" but he probably won't lose any
sleep.

Mayor Lee Brown said Tuesday he is concerned by allegations
surrounding the death of Pedro Oregon Navarro, but said he maintains
faith in both the Houston Police Department and Chief C.O. Bradford.

"I am very disturbed about the incident of going into someone's home
without a search warrant and someone ultimately losing their life, I
am disturbed about that," Brown said.

Oregon, 23, was shot to death July 12 after members of the gang task
force assigned to the Southwest Patrol Division raided Oregon's
apartment. The raid reportedly was on the basis of information from a
confidential informant.

Police who forced their way into Oregon's apartment without a warrant
shot him 12 times, including nine times in the back, an autopsy showed.

Brown said he welcomed investigations by HPD, the Harris County
district attorney and the FBI, to determine whether any civil rights
violations occurred in the incident.

"One of the things I have always preached as a public servant,
particularly as police chief, is that you can't break the law to
enforce it," Brown said. "It's just that simple."

But Brown called a spate of recent incidents at the Police Department
- -- including allegations that bicycle patrol officers falsified time
cards and claims of drunkenness on duty -- coincidental and not
indicative of a larger problem.

"I think it would be coincidental that they happened in a short period
of time together, I don't consider that to be an indictment against
the Police Department," Brown said.

Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle

Checked-by: "Rich O'Grady"