Drug deal goes sour, bullets fly, undercover Memphis officers escape

By Hank Dudding
Posted January 22, 2010 at midnight

An undercover Memphis police officer met a crack dealer at the trunk of a 2005 Ford for what looked to be a routine drug sale.

Nothing that followed was routine.

Within seconds, police said, the dealer and a 16-year-old boy pulled guns, demanded money and discovered the officer's recording device before firing a flurry of shots at the officer and his partner.

2009 Crime Series. The officers escaped, one playing dead in a ditch while the other diverted attention from his partner. Neither was injured.

Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin said the officers didn't shoot back because they were concerned about hitting a 11/2 -year-old baby who was in the Ford.

Three suspects, Bernard Frazier, 23; Xaviera Oliver, 27; and Michael Young, 16, face two counts each of attempted first-degree murder, along with robbery, drug and gun charges.

"It's amazing to me that you would ... bring your child to a drug deal," Godwin said. "Something's really missing here that you would do such a thing."

The baby was taken from Oliver, the child's mother, and placed in the father's custody.

"We're very fortunate that the child is safe (and) the officers, of course, are safe. And I'm glad the suspects weren't injured, at this point," Godwin said. "They're very fortunate, because in another situation fire would have been returned."

According to Godwin and police affidavits:

The officers, whose names were not released, arranged to buy drugs from Frazier in the 300 block of Howard on Wednesday afternoon.

As one officer went to the trunk of Frazier's Ford 500, Young got out of the Ford, pulled a gun and demanded "everything" from the officer. Frazier also pulled a gun.

The suspects took $125 in cash, a police handgun and two cell phones.

The officer tried to break away when Frazier discovered he was wearing a recording device.

Frazier then told the officer: "You're going to get your (expletive) blown off."

The juvenile fired at least five shots at the officers.

"It was a robbery that was set up to be a robbery from the word 'go,'" said Godwin, who said a tap on the trunk put the plan in motion.

Investigators traced the Ford's tag to Express Van and Rental in the 1900 block of Brooks. An employee there then used GPS to pinpoint the car at Elvis Presley Boulevard and Hale.

Officers found Frazier, Oliver and Young in the car eating a meal at Church's Chicken, 4360 Elvis Presley Blvd.

The officers will be off the job for at least a couple of days, Godwin said, while they undergo psychological counseling.

"We asked them to slow down just a bit," he said. "I want them to feel good about themselves and make sure there are no issues."

Frazier and Oliver are being held in Shelby County jails. Young is at Juvenile Court.

From: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/22/drug-deal-goes-sour-bullets-fly/?partner=popular