Undercover officer shot, suspect killed in highspeed gunbattle

By LISA TEACHEY
Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle

An undercover Houston police officer was shot, the man he was
pursuing was killed and a 3yearold girl was wounded Monday
during a car chase that turned into a highspeed shootout through
Bellaire.

"It was a running gunbattle in cars," said Houston police
spokesman Jack Cato, who gave this account:

About 1:15 p.m., undercover narcotics officer Gerald M. Goines,
32, radioed for a marked patrol car to stop a Chevrolet Blazer in
the 8900 block of South Main.

It was still not clear late Monday why Goines wanted to stop the
vehicle, occupied by two men and the girl.

Moments later, Goines radioed the dispatcher he had been shot and
was following the Blazer on Willow near Loop 610.

By the time officers in marked cars caught up to Goines and the
Blazer on Newcastle at Darsey in Bellaire, Goines was unconscious
and crashed into one of the patrol cars.

Officers surrounded the Blazer that had veered off the road near
the stop sign, Cato said. When an officer told him to get out,
the driver opened the door and slumped to the ground.

The driver, Reginald Dorsey, 24, had been shot in the side. He
was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died about 5 p.m.

Trinnis Durant, 23, the passenger in the Blazer, surrendered at
the scene and was taken into custody. No charges had been filed
against him as of late Monday night.

The girl, whose relationship with the men in the car was not
known late Monday, was wounded by flying glass and was taken to
Ben Taub. She was in fair condition.

Goines, who has been with the department for 12 years, was taken
by Life Flight helicopter to Hermann Hospital where he underwent
surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Two weeks ago, Goines won the power lifting event in the Texas
Police Olympics, Cato said. He also won the title of "Strongest
Peace Officer in Texas" two years in a row in the early 90s.
[Editorial note: Why are they called "peace officers" when they
are waging a drug *war*?]

Monday's incident was the second time Goines had been wounded on
duty. In January 1992, after a narcotics raid, he was shot in the
cheek by a resident who thought he was a burglar. [Note: The
Chronicle fails to mention that Goines was urinating against the
resident's house.]

Residents in the quiet community said gunfire was being exchanged
between the two vehicles as they made their way through the
neighborhood.

A 9mm pistol was found in the Blazer, but investigators believe
there may have been another weapon in the car, based on shell
casings recovered near the shootout.

"It was scary," said Debbie Baker, who watched part of the chase
from her home in the 4500 block of Braeburn.

Baker said she heard gunshots and told the person with whom she
was talking on the phone. "It was more tongue in cheek at first
because I thought it was a firecracker," Baker said. "But then I
heard it again."

Baker then walked out into her yard, where she saw the Blazer
going south on Newcastle with the man on the passenger side
hanging out the door.

"I don't know if he was trying to duck or jump," Baker said.
"Then the blue HPD car came and stopped at the stop sign (on
Newcastle at Darsey). Then the red car (Goines') screeched and
crashed into the HPD car."

As more officers arrived and readied their guns to draw on the
Blazer, Baker said she went back inside her home.

"This is just not a normal occurrence at all," Baker said. "It's
just unbelievable that it actually happened."