Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Copyright: 1999 Houston Chronicle Author: STEVE BREWER OREGON POLICE GOT `RAW DEAL' Union chief backs officers in shooting Testimony in the upcoming criminal trespass trial of an ex-officer charged in connection with the shooting of Pedro Oregon Navarro will show that the officers involved got "a raw deal," a Houston police union leader said Monday. "I think you're going to see that Mr. Oregon was not all he's been made out to be by earlier media reports, and I think people will see he's more than a soccer player and a lawn guy," said Hans Marticiuc, Houston Police Officers Union president. "He (Oregon) may not have been arrested for anything, but there was some gang activity in his past." Richard Mithoff, the attorney representing Oregon's family, balked at Marticiuc's comments and accused him of engaging in character assassination on the eve of the criminal trial. Mithoff, who is representing Oregon's family in the federal lawsuit, said Monday that Marticiuc's comments only make what happened to Oregon worse. "I think it only compounds the tragedy for the police officers or their spokesman to now be assassinating the character of Pedro Oregon, having already killed him once," Mithoff said. "Whatever personal matters are dragged out about him or his family cannot undo his unlawful and unjustified killing at their hands." Mithoff said he is not aware of any criminal activities in Oregon's past, and he doesn't know what Marticiuc is referring to. Jury selection starts early today in Harris County Criminal Court-at-Law Judge Neel Richardson's court in the misdemeanor trial of former Houston police Officer James Willis, 28. It was unclear Monday how long jury selection would last because of the high-profile nature of the case and because Willis' attorney, Brian Benken, has said he will ask for a change of venue hearing if it becomes clear that a fair jury panel cannot be selected. Willis was the only officer charged in connection with the July 12 death of Oregon. He and five other officers burst into Oregon's residence after receiving a tip from an informant that drugs were being sold. The officers opened fire on Oregon, a soccer enthusiast and landscaper, after another officer accidentally fired his weapon. Oregon was shot 12 times, including nine times in the back. The officers always have contended Oregon was armed and pointed a gun at them. But the officers did not have an arrest or search warrant, and Oregon's gun had not been fired. No drugs were found in the apartment or in Oregon's system. The circumstances of the shooting touched off a controversy. Protesters and supporters of Oregon's family called for serious criminal charges and heaped criticism on the Houston Police Department and later on the Harris County district attorney's office when Willis was the only one indicted after a lengthy grand jury probe. All six officers eventually were fired. The case also has spawned a multimillion-dollar federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Oregon's family against the city and a continuing FBI probe into the shooting. Marticiuc's group is helping four of the officers, including Willis, appeal their firings. The union president said everyone was so concerned about the bad publicity surrounding the shooting that the officers were denied their rights and wrongfully vilified. "Everyone was so concerned about due process for our dead complainant that they forgot the due process rights of the officers," Marticiuc said. "They (the officers) got a raw deal here and that will become clear." Mithoff, meanwhile, was critical of the grand jury investigation when that panel indicted only Willis in connection with the shooting. Prosecutor Ed Porter will not say why Willis was the only officer charged in the case. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity, speculated that it might be because Willis didn't come across well when he testified in front of grand jurors. "He (Willis) wasn't the first in the door and he had nothing to do with the planning of the raid and he did no shooting," the source said. "It was probably his attitude (in front of grand jurors) because he was amazed that it was coming to this." Porter and Benken could not be reached for comment on that theory, but both have agreed in past interviews that the trial will provide an opportunity to clear up what they say are misconceptions about the case. Both have been critical of media coverage of the shooting and said testimony will show that Oregon was armed, that officers did not kick in the door to his residence or shot the locks off and that they didn't rush immediately into the botched raid after talking to the informant. Benken and Porter also said testimony will show that an "incorrect spin" has been put on the gunshot wounds to Oregon's back. Benken has said previous reports have made it seem that Oregon was shot in the back while standing or lying down. But he said the trajectory of the wounds indicates that those shots entered Oregon's body as he moved toward officers. That, Porter has said, would be consistent with what officers say happened once they entered the apartment. Willis might take the witness stand during the trial and the six jurors needed for a misdemeanor case may also hear from the other officers involved. The charge against Willis is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Testimony is expected to start immediately after a jury is picked. - --- MAP posted-by: Rolf Ernst