Police Keep Lid on Investigation of Officer’s Wounding : Inquiry: Police refuse to say if suspect died from bullet wounds. Critically injured Robert J. Henry was reported slightly improved at the hospital.

Although Newport Beach police have theorized that a despondent Carlos Caicedo critically wounded an officer before killing himself, officials have released only the barest details and are refusing to discuss supporting facts in the bizarre case.

The coroner’s office, for instance, has withheld the cause of the suspect’s death.

“It’s still an open investigation. We’re continuing to do lab tests and nothing is releaseable yet,” said Chief Deputy Coroner James D. Beisner.

Newport Beach police have called Caicedo a suspect in the Sunday morning shooting of Officer Robert J. Henry, but investigators even Wednesday refused to say if Caicedo, 24, died from bullet wounds or if he was shot at all.

Henry, 30, a five-year veteran, was shot at least once in the head Sunday. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found him at 4:10 a.m. lying underneath Caicedo’s body near 16th Street and Dover Drive. On Wednesday, police spokesman Sgt. Andy Gonis refused to say if Henry was shot more than once. The officer remains in critical condition at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

Although Henry still has severe brain swelling, doctors said he showed slight improvement Wednesday. A neurosurgeon said Henry exhibited slightly better corneal reflex, “marking the first sign of improvement since he left surgery last Sunday.” But doctors cautioned that Henry’s condition is still very critical, and he remains comatose and on a ventilator.

Police recovered Henry’s department-issued .45-caliber semiautomatic at the scene but refused to say if the pistol had been fired. A revolver was also found. But Gonis refused to say if it belonged to Caicedo, or if it had been fired.

“There is no ballistics report yet,” he said.

Gonis also refused to say if Henry was shot with the revolver found at the scene or with his own weapon. Police officials are aware of the frustrations from Henry’s and Caicedo’s families and the public over the lack of information, Gonis added.

“We understand the grief on the part of both families. We’re trying to get everyone the right answers as we go along,” he said.

Gonis took issue with published reports that Caicedo and Henry were acquaintances. “We’ve looked into these reports on more than one occasion and have found absolutely no indication that Henry and Caicedo knew each other,” he said.

As the police investigation continues, new details were learned about Caicedo’s past, including his Army record, which showed he worked in a mess hall but served less than one year on active duty before he was forced to leave the military under honorable circumstances.

According to Army records, Caicedo was on active duty from July 1, 1993 to March 25, 1994. He was assigned to Ft. Lee, Va., at the time of his dismissal from the military. An Army spokeswoman said records showed that Caicedo “wasn’t a bad soldier” and “did what he was supposed to do.”

The spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, could not say why Caicedo was booted out of the Army, but she said his dismissal was not because of violence or criminal activity.

Meanwhile, Newport Beach officers and civilian employees of the department are wearing bracelets in support of Henry. The bracelets, with the inscription “Bob Henry NBPD. We love you. 3/12/95,” were the idea of Officer Tom Weizoerick, Gonis said.

The department’s Police Employees Assn., which is raising donations for Henry’s family, is making the bracelets available to the public in exchange for a contribution. Henry and his wife are the parents of three children, including a month-old daughter.