Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Sun 01/11/2009

Section: A Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.

Innocent man dies, teen held in chase / Police pursuit of stolen truck ends in tragedy

By ANITA HASSAN, DALE LEZON

Staff

A teenage driver was charged with felony murder after officers said he killed a 41-year-old man Saturday as he tried to flee police in a stolen pickup near the Port of Houston - adding another victim to the list of innocent bystanders who have died during Houston police chases.

Two police cars were chasing 17-year-old Frank Anthony Marron through an east Houston neighborhood when the black Ford F-350 the teen was driving broadsided a Ford Expedition, Houston Police Department vehicular crimes division Sgt. Steven Perez said.

Perez said police initiated the three-minute pursuit around 11:45 a.m. after learning that the pickup was reported stolen.

The SUV drove onto two lawns before crashing into a tree, Perez said. The driver of the vehicle, identified by relatives as Houston Chronicle employee Homero Rosales Jr., died instantly.

A 53-year-old male passenger, identified as Rosales' best friend, was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. His condition was unknown.

After the collision, Marron - who was on probation in the juvenile system with a criminal record that includes unauthorized use of a motor vehicle - got out of the pickup and attempted to run from police. He was apprehended by an officer, officials said.

Perez called the accident a tragedy.

"First (Marron) stole somebody's livelihood and then he stole somebody's life," he said.

Police chases are a controversial topic in Houston and across the nation. Many departments have taken steps to reduce the number of chases that their officers become involved in, officials said.

HPD, for example, began a revision of its chase policy in 2007, requiring officers to continually evaluate risk factors when starting or continuing a pursuit. Only one supervisor and two additional units should take part, unless additional officers are authorized.

Saturday's chase, like all police pursuits, will be reviewed, HPD spokesman Victor Senties said.

"At that point, we'll be able to determine whether policy was followed," he said.

Last July, a Houston physician was killed by a man driving a stolen car in a high-speed police chase through southwest Houston. In 2006, a 12-year-old boy was killed on his way to school when a SUV fleeing police collided with his mother's car.

Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the federal government has ever spoken out on specific guidelines to oversee police chases, leaving individual departments and municipalities to set their own parameters, said Bill Stephens, a senior instructor at the Law Enforcement Training Institute at the University of Missouri.

"Police pursuits are one of the highest civil liabilities in law enforcement," he noted.

Officers should retain discretionary power during such incidents, and policies and procedures should serve only as guidelines, Stephens cautioned.

"They are not commandments. You cannot issue commandments - that only works if the people you are engaging with also follow the rules. And they don't; they're criminals," he said.

Andrew J. Scott III, a Florida consultant who works with attorneys and law enforcement agencies across the country on police practices and procedures, said many police departments have adopted policies that only allow the pursuit of suspects of violent crime to try to reduce injuries to the public and officers.

"Chases are appropriate in limited circumstances," said Scott, a former police chief with 30 years in law enforcement. But for the most part, police chases are becoming more of a liability to law enforcement agencies than a benefit to the public.

Rosales' family members said their biggest concern is making sure that the chase is reviewed to ensure that all police procedures were followed properly.

"The biggest question we have is `Why were they chasing the car in a residential area?' " said Rosales' brother, Mario Rosales.

He said his brother was on his way home from his job at the Chronicle's southwest plant, where he worked in the press room.

"It's really tough," he said. "It's very difficult for the family right now."

Homero Rosales leaves behind his wife of 17 years, Lydia Rosales. The couple have two children, Omar Rosales, 16, and Erica Rosales, 13.

"He was always there for his family and his kids," his wife said. "He was supportive and a good provider. "

Rosales worked at the newspaper for about 23 years, relatives said. His mother has spent 28 years as a custodian at the Chronicle.

"He was a hard worker, a good man," press and plate room manager West Newsom said.

Rosales liked to joke around at times, Newsom said.

"An all-around dependable, nice guy," Newsom said. "This is a tragedy. It's shocking."

Elia Rosales said she never imagined her child would make headlines for a tragedy.

"I never expected this," she said.

Mario Rosales remembers his brother as always being the life of the party.

"He always made the room smile," he said. "No matter what was going on."

...

FATALITIES, POLICIES

Police chases have been a controversial topic for several years in Houston. Here are some past incidents and police reactions:

July 2008: Houston physician Wesley Clifford Gustafson Jr., 75, was killed when a New Orleans man driving a stolen car was involved in a high-speed police chase through southwest Houston.

September 2007: HPD begins revising its policy to require officers to continually evaluate risk factors when starting or continuing a pursuit. Only one supervisor and two additional units should take part, unless additional officers are authorized. Previous policy required officers in pursuit to consider a variety of factors, including the severity of the suspect's crime, the potential risks to citizens, weather and traffic conditions, the driving behavior of the suspect, and the mechanical conditional of their patrol cars.

2006: Police Chief Harold Hurtt was blocked from revising HPD policy to prevent officers from chasing drivers suspected of nothing more than minor traffic violations. Houston's 765 police chases resulted in four deaths that year.

October 2006: Suspect Alexander Henderson, 37, died after crashing into another vehicle after leading police on a brief chase through northeast Houston.

January 2006: Hurtt announces a plan to review the chase policy after a 12-year-old boy dies on his way to school when a SUV fleeing police collides with his mother's car.

January 2006: A wrong-way motorist fleeing Houston police smashes his BMW head-on into a car carrying two women and a baby on a freeway on-ramp. No one is seriously injured, but the televised crash makes national news.

May 2005: A 40-year-old bystander is killed after an 18-year-old man runs a stop sign while speeding away from a police officer.

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