A peaceful demonstration of several hundred people in front of Louisville Police headquarters last night ended with officers in riot gear and horse-mounted police trying to disperse about 60 people who refused to leave, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. Four people were arrested. The incident ended when Chief Robert White, some of whose office windows were broken by protesters, spent nearly two hours answering questions in a closed session with about 50 demonstrators.
The demonstration responded to the death of Michael Newby, 19, who was shot in the back three times by an undercover officer during an alleged attempted drug buy Saturday.
During a rally held just outside the entrance to police headquarters, ministers and local activists called for justice in Newby’s shooting. “We are not here just because of Michael Newby,” said the Rev. Alvin Herring of New Covenant AME Church. “We are here because the whole system is unjust.”
White stood silhouetted in the window of his main floor office as he watched through the blinds, listening to the speakers. Much of the crowd began dispersing about 6 p.m. But about 60 people, most in their teens and 20s, lingered, blocking rush-hour traffic. They then marched past police headquarters, with many shouting insults – like “pigs” and “cowards” – and curses at a handful of officers who were standing outside.
Link: http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/01/09ky/wir-front-prot0109m-10123.html