Oct. 28, 2004: 'This boy didn't have a lot of time'

The only legible fingerprint on a pellet gun that police said Courtney Williams had with him when he was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer early Sunday belongs to the teenager, according to authorities with knowledge of the case.

Relatives of the 15-year-old Edison High School sophomore have adamantly denied that he had a gun that resembles a .45-caliber pistol on the night he died. The gun also had two smeared fingerprints and another that may match Williams', authorities said Wednesday.

A single fingerprint usually will only tell investigators that the person handled the gun at some point. Capt. Rich Stanek wouldn't confirm whether the boy's fingerprint was on the gun, but said police will be looking at many pieces of evidence as the investigation continues.

A relative of Williams' declined to comment about the fingerprint several hours before a memorial service Wednedsay night attended by about 200 people at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in north Minneapolis. Community leaders urged parents to discipline and listen to their children. They asked young people to find power through education.

"It's a terrible loss for our community," said V.J. Smith, president of MAD DADS (Men Against Destruction/Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder). "We must move on."

Clergy members, City Council Members Natalie Johnson Lee and Don Samuels and Minneapolis schools Superintendent Thandiwe Peebles were among the attendees. A host of close friends and some family members donned long-sleeved T-shirts emblazoned with a picture of Williams, known by the nickname Whoopy.

His friends took turns eulogizing Williams as those in the audience fanned their tear-streaked faces.

"Whoopy was my oldest brother . . . and now he's gone," said Williams' brother, KeAndre. "It's hard on my family and I'm gonna miss him."

The Rev. Jessie Griffin implored parents and children to work together to make Minneapolis a safer place.

"There is nothing we can do to bring the young man back, but we can make the city of Minneapolis a better place for young people to live, to walk the streets and not be scared," he said. "It was the late Dr. Martin Luther King who said, `It's not how long you live, but how well you live your life.' This boy didn't have a lot of time, but you were spared. Make something of your life."

Williams had just left a party and called his mother to tell her that he was going to stay at a friend's house a couple of blocks away shortly before his encounter with police, Williams' aunt Ella Davis-Suggs said. Officer Scott Mars and another officer were responding to a call of a teenager with a gun near 30th and Knox Avs. N. A large group scattered as they arrived, but the officers chased after Williams, who fit a dispatched description of the person with the gun.

Police told Williams to drop his weapon. Trapped in a yard enclosed by fences, Williams allegedly turned toward Mars with a gun in his hand, authorities said. It remains unclear whether Williams pointed a gun at the officer.

Community leader Ron Edwards, a member of a group that has met with police to discuss the case, said he has concerns that the gun was found about 10 to 15 feet from Williams' body.

Davis-Suggs said she was at a meeting Monday at The City Inc., where she expressed her gratitude for the community support and advice on how to best proceed with gathering information.

"We consider everyone involved to be well-meaning, decent human beings who are interested in truth and justice for our family, and the African American community at large," she said.

Davis-Suggs reiterated that the friends who were with Williams the night he died said they were running from police because it was after curfew. But they swear that Williams did not hold, touch or possess a gun of any kind, real or fake, she said.

Angela Versalles wanted to attend the vigil, but couldn't find a baby sitter. A case manager at Washburn Child Guidance Center, she met Williams at an after-school program while he was in elementary school.

"Courtney was a very bright and articulate young man," she said.
"His love for music allowed him to express his views regarding anti-drug and violence in our community."

Williams' mother, Tahisha Brewer, and father, Travis Jones, thanked the community for its support and spoke briefly before Wednesday's hour-long memorial service ended with prayer and poetry written by a friend.

"My son was a very good boy," Brewer said. "Lazy. He wasn't a troubled boy. He was very good to me. He was one of my everythings.I miss him like you all."