Pubdate: Sun, 19 Sep 2004
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: Dylan T. Lovan, Associated Press
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TRIAL BEGINS THIS WEEK IN POLICE SLAYING

Former Louisville Detective Fatally Shot Teenager In The Back During Drug Buy

LOUISVILLE - Family and friends of a former Louisville police detective 
think he was wrongly charged for fatally shooting an armed man during an 
undercover drug buy.

But many civil rights activists and those in Louisville's black community 
say holding a white police officer accountable for the murder of a black 
man is long overdue.

McKenzie Mattingly, a 31-year-old former Marine and five-year veteran of 
the police department, goes on trial this week for the fatal shooting of 
19-year-old Michael Newby, who was shot three times in the back after an 
altercation during a drug buy.

The Jan. 3 shooting reignited anger in a black community still upset over 
the fatal shooting of a handcuffed man by a white officer a year before.

Newby was the seventh black man fatally shot by Louisville police in the 
past five years, but Mattingly is the first officer facing criminal charges 
in any of those cases.

Mattingly was indicted for murder and wanton endangerment in March and 
fired a month later.

The shooting rallied Louisville's black community, one activist said.

"To them this was just totally out of order, and it's unacceptable to 
them," said the Rev. Louis Coleman, who has led dozens of protests in front 
of Louisville police headquarters in the past few years. With Newby's 
death, more young people have joined the protests, he said.

"These young people know that getting shot in the back running away is 
wrong," Coleman said.

In Mattingly's case, court records say Newby was carrying a small amount of 
crack cocaine, some marijuana, a .45-caliber handgun and a large amount of 
money the night of the shooting.

One of Mattingly's close friends, who started a Web site to raise money and 
support for the former officer, said his friend shouldn't be facing a 
murder trial.

"There's so many hypocrisies here, it's unbelievable," said Lukas Dwelly. 
He said his Web site had had 22,000 hits in eight months and scores of 
responses from people upset that Mattingly was indicted for murder.

"You've got a guy who's put it on the line for 111/2 years ... that's where 
the anger comes from," Dwelly said. He said his Web site has raised about 
$35,000 on Mattingly's behalf.

The case has been covered extensively by the Louisville media and carried 
in some national news outlets, prompting Mattingly's attorneys to ask that 
the trial be moved to another town and out of the media spotlight. 
Jefferson Circuit Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman denied that request in May, 
but left the door open for Mattingly's attorneys to try again before the 
trial begins.

Prosecutors and Mattingly's attorney, Steve Schroering, have declined to 
comment on the trial. Schroering has experience defending police officers. 
In June, a jury cleared his client, a Liberty officer, of second-degree 
manslaughter charges for fatally shooting a suspect.

Convincing a jury that a police officer committed murder in an on-duty 
shooting is a tough sell for prosecutors, according to one expert.

"It wasn't a premeditated thing like, 'I'm going to go out and find someone 
to kill on duty today,'" said Tim Apolito, a former Ohio police officer who 
is now a criminal justice professor at the University of Dayton. 
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