46 Police Shells Found At Drug Bust Scene

Six Pasadena police officers fired 46 times during an attempted drug bust in which two men were killed and another wounded, police said Thursday.

One of the two men killed was a criminal justice major at Prairie View A&M University and the other a December criminal justice graduate.

"Our crime scene people have been able to recover 46 shell casings," Pasadena police spokesman Sgt. J.M. Baird said. "We believe all of those shell casings came from police weapons. At this point we do know that six officers were involved in engaging their firearms at the suspects."

One of the men killed by officers -- Keithen Briscoe, 24, of 2814 Dragonwick in Houston -- had a .32-caliber pistol in his waistband, Baird said. Tests are being done to determine if the weapon had been fired, he said.

An autopsy by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office found that Briscoe suffered four gunshot wounds, and the one in his left shoulder and chest were fatal. He died Wednesday at Memorial Hospital-Southmore in Pasadena.

The other man killed by officers was identified as Empra TaDar Moore, 23, of 17103 Clay Road in Houston. Moore, who graduated from Prairie View and was beginning a master's program, was shot seven times, with the wound to the lower left armpit being fatal, Baird said. He died Wednesday at Ben Taub Hospital.

Robert Moore, 19, a passenger in his brother Empra's car, was shot in the shoulder and treated at Ben Taub Hospital.

Police say that about 2 p.m. Wednesday officers were trying to sell a large quantity of cocaine when officers tried to arrest the men in the parking lot of Sunny's Food Store at 204 S. Richey near Texas 225.

Baird said an undercover officer got into a Ford Escort driven by Briscoe, who showed him $56,000 in cash for the cocaine. The officer then got out of the car and gave a signal to other officers.

As the other officers began to surround Briscoe's car and a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Empra Moore, the two began to drive in reverse.

Briscoe's car struck an officer, throwing him over the car and in front of the vehicle, Baird said. Briscoe then ran over the officer, he said.

"At that point is when officers began to engage in fire," Baird said.

Police said there are tire marks on the leg of the pants worn by the undercover officer. He was taken to Columbia Bayshore Medical Center, where he was treated for a bruised kidney and cuts and bruises to his face, then released.

Baird said Moore also put his car in reverse, did a semicircle and struck an undercover officer in the shoulder with the back of the car. The officer suffered minor injuries.

Moore, with his brother as a passenger, tried to flee but got only a block before ramming into the back of a truck. The Tahoe's back window was shot out and the front windshield also was struck.

Speaking from his Houston home, Robert Moore said someone was trying to barricade his brother in the parking lot when Empra Moore tried to leave.

"We didn't know who they were. They didn't acknowledge themselves as police. We panicked. My brother put it in reverse and took off. They said he ran over a cop, which is unbelievable because he didn't. I heard a crash, but it wasn't a body," said Moore, 19, who is planning to enter Prairie View A&M.

Moore said he heard several shots as they tried to leave.

"I didn't know what had happened," he said. "I told my brother that I was scared. I looked up and saw police cars behind us, and I looked at my brother and he was dead."

Robert Moore said he and his brother dropped off his son and the child's mother at the airport. He said he thought they were going home, but his brother drove to Pasadena instead. He said he didn't question his brother, who was to start graduate work in criminal justice at Texas Southern University this month, about where they were going.

"They killed my brother for no reason. We ran but you're not supposed to get shot for running from police," he said.

Moore, who graduated from high school in Reno, Nev., said Briscoe and his brother were friends from Prairie View. He said his brother was not involved in drugs.

As police continued their investigation, authorities were searching for two Hispanic men who fled in a red Lincoln Town Car.

Charlie Jones, a cousin of Briscoe, said the shooting was excessive and possibly unjustified.

"At certain times police have the right to do certain things and sometimes not," he said.

"What was going on out there? Something had to be going on with so many police officers out there. Anybody could have been shot," said Jones, 35, who is visiting Houston from Detroit. "One thing for sure is that there were nine police officers involved. We need to find out what their roles were."

Jones and other family members said they did not know what Briscoe was doing in Pasadena and that he had no run-ins with the law. They said the Escort was not his car and that they did not know the Moore brothers.

Other members of the Moore family declined comment.

Baird said the officers were surprised that three cars and five suspects showed up for the buy.

"We expected a car and a suspect with the money," he said.

Police recovered $56,000 in cash from Briscoe's car. Earlier, police had said there was $100,000 in the car. No weapon or cash was recovered from Moore's car, Baird said.

No charges have been filed against Robert Moore.

The six officers who fired -- five undercover narcotics officers and one narcotics supervisor -- were placed on a mandatory three-day administrative leave and will undergo counseling. They also will have to requalify with their firearms at the police range, Baird said.

Another narcotics supervisor and two uniformed officers also were part of the sting operation but did not fire their weapons.

Baird said investigators have interviewed 15 witnesses and the nine officers. Anyone witnessing the shooting that has not been contacted by investigators is asked to call the police department at 713-477-1221.

Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle

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