IMMIGRANT-RIGHTS GROUP CALLING FOR JUSTICE

Fatal shooting by police decried at rally

With his mother close by, Juan Jose Caberera, 4, marches with a sign
protesting the fatal shooting of Pedro Oregon Navarro by police. [photo]

By ERIC BERGER Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle An immigrant-rights
activist group called for justice Sunday and marched to the apartment
where Houston police officers fatally shot 22-year-old Pedro Oregon
Navarro two weeks earlier.

"We're here because we want justice for Pedro Oregon," said Juan
Guzman, who attended the rally that began at the intersection of
Hillcroft and Bellaire.

La Resistencia, a regional group based in Houston, sponsored the
rally.

After a few speeches denouncing the Houston Police Department officers
involved, several dozen protesters marched to Oregon's apartment and
laid flowers at its doorstep.

As they marched, the protesters chanted: "What do we want? Justice!
For who? Pedro Oregon! When? Now!"

At 1:30 a.m. on July 12, without a search warrant, officers raided
Oregon's apartment in the 6700 block of Atwell after an informant told
them drugs were being sold there. Upon entering the apartment, police
kicked down a bedroom door and began firing, although tests have shown
Oregon never fired a shot.

An autopsy showed police shot Oregon 12 times, nine times in the
back.

Much of the rally was conducted in Spanish. The majority of
participants were Hispanic, although a handful of whites and blacks
attended to show support.

A local Nation of Islam minister, the Rev. Eric Muhammad, also spoke
during the rally.

"Corrupt police do more harm to society than all gang-bangers,"
Muhammad said. "Police brutality is not just happening in Houston,
it's happening all across the country."

Muhammad pointed to Friday's shooting in the U.S. Capitol as evidence
of the rising tide of lower- and middle-class resentment of what he
characterized as the governing elite.

Oregon's mother, Claudia Navarro, attended the rally. His family
members have retained attorney Paul Nugent to investigate his death.

The incident, for which five officers and a sergeant have been
suspended with pay, is also under investigation by HPD's Department of
Internal Affairs and the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Some organizations, including the League of United Latin American
Citizens, have called upon the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI to
also investigate.

Checked-by: "Rich O'Grady"