By Ellen R. Stapleton, The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The parents of a black teenager fatally shot by a white police officer earlier this month were among a group of about 40 protesters who met with Louisville’s mayor Tuesday.
Angela Bouggess, the mother of 19-year-old Michael Newby, emerged crying from the half-hour meeting with Mayor Jerry Abramson.
“It’s still unsettled,” said Jerry Bouggess, Newby’s stepfather. “It’s still the same mumbo-jumbo. Nothing’s been done.”
The group, mostly black women and some civil-rights leaders, handed Abramson a list of demands. They asked for Officer McKenzie Mattingly’s immediate firing, zero tolerance for police brutality, and use of confiscated drug money to equip officers with stun guns.
“We need more input in the state of our community,” said the Rev. Wanda McIntyre. “As mothers, we have a huge stake in what goes on in our neighborhoods. We didn’t raise up our children for this type of end.”
Abramson said he would wait for a police investigation to conclude before making any decisions about the case.
“I said as I have always said, ‘I have questions in this case and we’re going to go through the system,”’ said Abramson, who agreed to respond to the demands in writing.