How "community outrage" starts

[TheeBadOne]

Boy shot by officer was like many 15-year-olds

Courtney Williams was an "everykid."

He wasn't a superstar basketball player. Yet he was good enough to be the starting point guard for the Minneapolis Edison High School sophomore team, friends say.

He wasn't an honor student, but he kept his grades high enough that he could continue to play ball and avoid punishment at home.

Like most 15-year-olds, Courtney put his energy into his clothes, getting his driver's license, girls and song lyrics that he dreamed would lead to a rap career. He had hopes of going to college to major in business.

Courtney, known to friends and family members as "Whoopi," would have blended in with just about any group of teens before Oct. 24.

That morning, his name became cemented in Minneapolis history.

Courtney was fatally shot by Minneapolis police officer Scott Mars just after midnight as a foot chase ended in the 3000 block of Knox Av. N. in the Jordan neighborhood.

According to a search warrant affidavit, Mars repeatedly yelled for the boy to stop. He fired when Courtney stopped, turned and raised an arm, the affidavit said.

Since his death, family members and friends have struggled to find answers and fill the void left by an unfulfilled promise.

"I don't know what happened that night. All I know is what people told me. A lot of it is hearsay," Tahisha Brewer, Courtney's mother, said in her north Minneapolis home.

"All I know is that the police shot my son and he's dead and gone."

In Dolton, Ill., a middle-class suburb south of Chicago, Travis Jones, Courtney's father, listened recently to his son's baritone voice rapping on a CD and clasped his hands tightly. Jones hadn't heard the songs before Courtney's death.

Veins bulged in his hands, and his fingertips turned pale with the grip.

"This is all I have left," he said. "I've got this CD and a few pictures."

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now for an article with some facts, not parental emotions

No charges against Minneapolis cop who shot 15-year-old

No criminal charges will be filed against a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a 15-year-old boy in late October.

A Hennepin County grand jury heard from more than 20 witnesses on Thursday and Friday before returning a "no bill" ruling this afternoon.

Their ruling means that the jurors determined that there was not enough evidence to prosecute officer Scott Mars in connection with the Oct. 24 death of Courtney Williams.

Deputy Chief County Attorney Pete Cahill said that Courtney's mother, Tahisha Brewer and various members of the police department, including Mars, had been notified of the decision.

Brewer, testified before the grand jury, but declined to comment Friday on either her participation in the process or on the decision.

Mars shot the 15-year-old just after midnight Oct. 24 as a foot chase ended in the 3000 block of Knox Av. N. in the Jordan neighborhood.

According to court documents, Mars told investigators that he repeatedly yelled for the teenager to stop and that he fired after the boy stopped, turned and raised an arm. Mars, who has a clean disciplinary record, told investigators that he heard Williams say "I have a gun" as he turned.

Authorities have said that a pellet gun that resembled a .45-caliber pistol was found 10 to 15 feet from Williams' body. They also have said his fingerprint was on the gun.

Chief Bill McManus has scheduled a Monday morning news conference to discuss the decision.

"This has been a difficult case for everyone involved," he said in a written statement. "Once I have had an opportunity to fully review the finding and meet with [police community relations council members] we will then make a joint public statement."