Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS AND KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
As state police continue to probe what happened Aug. 9 at the Revco Drug Store, a group has asked Blacksburg officials for answers, and a community forum has been scheduled next week to discuss Maurice Taylor's death.
Taylor, 22, was shot 12 times after he pulled a BB pistol on three officers who were trying to arrest him in the South Main Street store. The pistol Taylor pulled and pointed at the policemen after they called his name looks virtually identical to a .45-caliber handgun.
One of the bullets fired by police struck Officer Michael Mickey in the leg as he wrestled with Taylor.
The officers had followed Taylor into the store that afternoon to serve a warrant charging that he violated his parole for a 1992 robbery conviction.
Taylor died soon after the shooting. Mickey recovered from his wound after spending several days in the hospital.
On Tuesday, a delegation of about 35 people, many wearing badges bearing Taylor's picture and the slogan "Was It Justice?," attended the Blacksburg Town Council meeting. "We've got to find a way to enforce the law without this kind of occurrence," Elaine Carter told council members.
Members of the badge-wearing delegation said they were a loosely organized group of Taylor's friends, neighbors and other concerned citizens.
Carter said the location of the "heavy-handed" shooting, at a store where she commonly shops, "makes me very uncomfortable."
"We need to know what is going on," she added. "Make certain fairness and justice are exercised."
"We have questions in our minds," Council Member Michael Chandler responded. "This is something we should be talking about as a community."
Oscar Williams, chairman of the Human Relations Council of Montgomery County, told council that a meeting has been scheduled to discuss concerns about the shooting. The event, billed as a "Listening Forum," will be held Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Blacksburg High School Auditorium.
Randall Wertz, Montgomery County's deputy assistant county administrator and the county's representative to the Human Relations Council, said the forum was organized to "address any issues that could possibly divide the population of Montgomery County."
The entire council voted to hold the forum after the executive council posed the question of how the group should react to concerns members were hearing.
Wertz said discussion of how the council should react started after he received a call last month from a Blacksburg resident who was concerned because they had heard a protest march was being organized. The march never happened, but the council wanted to give the community a chance to speak out in a calm, organized forum.
"A lot of times ... they just need some place to air their concerns. This gives them the opportunity ... This is an open forum for anybody," Wertz said.
The meeting is scheduled to last about 90 minutes, with individuals given about three minutes each to speak.
The Human Relations Council has members from 21 organizations, including the county and towns, chambers of commerce, Virginia Tech, the NAACP and law enforcement agencies.
"The incident is being thoroughly investigated," Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth told the delegation Tuesday night. "We've never had this kind of tragedy."
State police, asked by the Blacksburg Police Department to investigate the shooting, have not completed their report, said Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith.
Authorities say they have not publicly identified the two officers who shot Taylor to avoid any risk of retaliation.
by CNB