POLICE SHOOT, KILL DRUG SUSPECTED; OFFICER WOUNDED

A drug suspect confronted by officers with the Houston Police Department's
gang task force Sunday was shot and killed and an officer slightly wounded
in a burst of gunfire when the suspect pointed a gun at police, officials
said.

After an informant conducted a drug buy at an apartment at 6711 Atwell at
1:30 a.m., three officers rushed into the unit. The suspected drug dealer
ran into a bedroom and locked a door, HPD officials said.

They said the officers forced the door open and saw the suspect pointing a
pistol at them. Shots were fired and the suspect, Pedro Obregon, in his
early 20s, was killed. The shooting occurred at Obregon's apartment, police
said.

Officer L.E. Tillery, 30, was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and suffered
a mild gunshot wound to the rear of his shoulder, according to HPD
spokesman Fred King.

However, HPD officials were unsure whose bullet struck Tillery, who was
recovering from his wound at Hermann Hospital. It was anticipated that
Tillery would be released late Sunday.

The other officers who entered the apartment with Tillery were D. R.
Barrera, 28, and D.R. Perkins, 30. All are assigned to the Southwest Patrol
Division.

Tillery has been an HPD officer since 1996.

The case is being reviewed by the Houston Police Department's Internal
Affairs Division as well as the civil rights unit of the Harris County
District Attorney's Office.

Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle