Court records expunged in Louisville police shooting: Officer Killed 19 Year Old Black Man Michael Newby
/A judge has removed murder and wanton endangerment charges from
court records and sealed documents from the trial of a former
Louisville police detective who was found not guilty last year of
killing a 19-year-old man. McKenzie Mattingly was acquitted four months
ago in the death last January of Michael Newby. His lawyer, Steve
Schroering, asked Jefferson County Circuit Judge Judith
McDonald-Burkman last month to expunge the case. "He was found not
guilty and he just exercised his rights, like any other citizen who is
accused of a crime they did not commit," Schroering said. "It's a
matter of doing everything he can to clear his name for a crime he was
falsely accused of." Prosecutors said they had no role in expunging the
case and didn't take a position. State law says defendants who are
acquitted or whose charges are dismissed without a chance for
reinstatement may ask a judge to wipe out all public record of the
case, even fingerprint cards. The law also allows people, including
law-enforcement applicants, to omit any reference to the charges on an
employment application. Civil-rights activists criticized the
expungement Wednesday and said police departments that might hire
Mattingly won't know about the indictment. [more]
Mattingly hearing must be open to public
A judge ruled yesterday that a merit board hearing for a police officer fired after a fatal shooting must be open to the public. The officer, McKenzie Mattingly, had sought to have the hearing closed. The ruling came one year and one day after Mattingly fatally shot Michael Newby, 19, in an undercover drug buy gone awry. The incident prompted weeks of protests in Louisville, in part because Mattingly is white and Newby was black. Mattingly was indicted on a charge of murder but was acquitted of all charges related to Newby's death in a trial in September. He was fired in April by Chief Robert White, who said Mattingly violated policy. A merit board will hear Mattingly's appeal of his firing and could decide to reinstate him. That hearing was delayed while Mattingly and his attorney sought to have it closed. [more]
Mattingly hearing must be open to public
A judge ruled yesterday that a merit board hearing for a police officer fired after a fatal shooting must be open to the public. The officer, McKenzie Mattingly, had sought to have the hearing closed. The ruling came one year and one day after Mattingly fatally shot Michael Newby, 19, in an undercover drug buy gone awry. The incident prompted weeks of protests in Louisville, in part because Mattingly is white and Newby was black. Mattingly was indicted on a charge of murder but was acquitted of all charges related to Newby's death in a trial in September. He was fired in April by Chief Robert White, who said Mattingly violated policy. A merit board will hear Mattingly's appeal of his firing and could decide to reinstate him. That hearing was delayed while Mattingly and his attorney sought to have it closed. [more]
- Activists say police too quick to shoot suspects [more]
