October 28, 2004 - A memorial service was held Wednesday evening in a north Minneapolis church for Courtney Williams. Williams was shot and killed last weekend by a Minneapolis police officer. Police say the 15-year-old was carrying a pellet gun that looked like a .45 caliber handgun. But family members say they don't believe the police accounts. Cousin Andre Gray says Williams was a good kid.
October 28, 2004 - Family and friends held a memorial service last night for a teenager who was shot and killed last weekend by a Minneapolis police officer. Police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was carrying a pellet gun which resembled a handgun. Family members maintain Williams didn't have a gun and didn't like guns. Andre Gray is Williams' cousin. He says the family is more concerned with healing than with the police investigation.
October 29, 2004 - Minneapolis police and members of a community relations group are cooperating in the investigation of the shooting death of a Minneapolis teenager by a police officer. However, the two continue to offer different accounts of what happened. Police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams held a pellet gun that resembled a real gun and refused to drop it when commanded to do so by a police officer. They say Williams stopped and turned toward the officer with the gun when the officer fired two shots. But members of the council say another boy possessed the pellet gun and threw it on the ground as he ran from police officers. Despite the different accounts, community group member Spike Moss says the relationship between his group and the department is sound.
January 6, 2005 - St.Paul's police chief rejects a call from civil rights leaders to fire an officer involved in a scuffle last week with an 85-year-old man. Chief John Harrington says Officer Mike Lee acted appropriately when the man, Leon Nins, refused to cooperate during a traffic stop and began kicking the officer. Lee ended up using pepper spray to subdue Nins. Harrington says officials plan to charge Nins with assaulting an officer.
January 7, 2005 - St.Paul's police chief rejects a call from civil rights leaders to fire an officer involved in a scuffle last week with an 85-year-old man. Chief John Harrington says Officer Mike Lee acted appropriately when the man, Leon Nins, refused to cooperate during a traffic stop and began kicking the officer. Lee ended up using pepper spray to subdue Nins. Harrington says officials plan to charge Nins with assaulting an officer.
January 10, 2005 - The St. Paul officer at the center of a police brutality complaint against an 85-year-old man will face a federal civil rights trail in an earlier case. The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled officer Michael Lee and the St. Paul Police Department are not immune from a civil rights complaint in the 2001 shooting of Charles Craighead. Lee mistook Craighead for a car jacker and fatally shot him. Craighead was wrestling over a gun with the suspected carjacker. Frederick Goetz is the attorney for Craighead's family. He says the ruling provides an opportunity to air the facts of the case.
January 11, 2005 - The St. Paul officer at the center of a police brutality complaint against an 85-year-old man will face a federal civil rights trail in an earlier case. The U-S Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled officer Michael Lee and the St. Paul Police Department are not immune from a civil rights complaint in the 2001 shooting of Charles Craighead. Lee mistook Craighead for a car jacker and fatally shot him. Craighead was wrestling over a gun with the suspected carjacker. Frederick Goetz is the attorney for Craighead's family. He says the ruling provides an opportunity to air the facts of the case.
February 7, 2005 - Late Friday a Hennepin County grand jury decided against charging an officer who shot and killed a teenager last October. But a group of community activists and members of the victim's family are skeptical. The police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was holding a pellet gun when he was shot by officer Scott Mars. Family members say Williams didn't have the gun when he was shot. And they say there are other questions about the night of the shooting that don't make sense.
February 7, 2005 - Minneapolis police officials support a Hennepin County grand jury decision against charging an officer who shot and killed a teenager last October. But a group of community activists and members of the victim's family are skeptical of the grand jury's findings. The police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was holding a pellet gun when he was shot by officer Scott Mars. Family members say Williams didn't have the gun when he was shot. Williams' aunt Ella Davis Suggs says they have other questions as well.
February 8, 2005 - A Hennepin County grand jury found that a Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed a teenager with a pellet gun was justified in his actions. But relatives of the teen say they have unanswered questions about his death. Last October officer Scott Mars shot 15-year-old Courtney Williams. Police say Williams was carrying a pellet gun that resembled a real gun and was shot after he didn't follow the officer's request to drop it. Family members say Williams didn't have the gun at the time of the shooting. But Sgt. John Delmonico says witnesses saw Williams carrying the gun.