Protesters Decry Louisville Officer's Aquittal in Killing of Unarmed Black Man

Protesters Decry Louisville Police Officer's Aquittal in Killing of Unarmed Black Man
Verdict in Newby case spurs downtown march
Nearly 200 people gathered at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville yesterday to protest alleged police brutality and the recent acquittal of former Louisville Metro Police Detective McKenzie Mattingly on four charges related to the shooting death of a 19-year-old black man in January. The Justice Resource Center has sponsored weekly marches outside police headquarters since last year. They began after a grand jury did not indict two white police detectives involved in the Dec. 5, 2002, shooting death of James Taylor, a handcuffed black man who police said was waving a box-cutter knife. The Rev. Louis Coleman, who leads the resource center, said yesterday that despite last week's verdict in the Michael Newby case, the protests will continue. Newby was shot Jan. 3 while running away after a struggle with Mattingly, an undercover officer. Mattingly, who is white, fired four times, hitting Newby three times in the back and killing him.  A Jefferson County jury acquitted Mattingly last week of murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter, and reckless homicide. Joe Madison, host of the "Black Eagle," a syndicated talk-radio program  told the group that the issue of police brutality is everywhere. "This is not just Louisville," Madison said. "This is America's fight." [more] and [more ]

• Pictured above:  Jerry Bouggess, Michael Newby's stepfather.