NEWBY STRUGGLED AFTER SHOOTING, OFFICERS SAY

Though pinned to the ground, 19-year-old Michael Newby struggled with
police and repeatedly tried to get a hand into his waistband, four officers
told a Jefferson County jury yesterday.

Only after they managed to handcuff Newby did the officers realize that he
had been shot - and that he had a gun in his waistband, they testified.

Their testimony in the murder trial of former Louisville Metro Police
Detective McKenzie Mattingly described an undercover drug deal that quickly
escalated out of control and a suspect who wouldn't quit struggling.

And two civilians riding with the officers that night testified that
Mattingly put his hands on top of his head and squatted after he shot
Newby, shaking and talking to himself.

"It was one of those 'Oh my God' things," said Mitchell Gibson, who with
his twin brother, Matthew, rode with Mattingly's partner, Detective Matthew
Thomerson, on the night of the Jan. 3 shooting.

Mattingly is standing trial on charges of murder and wanton endangerment in
Newby's death, after shooting the teen three times. If convicted,
Mattingly, who since has been fired from the police department, could be
sentenced to life in prison.

In their opening statements to the jury Thursday, prosecutors said
Mattingly made fatal mistakes that led him to shoot Newby in the back as
the 19-year-old was running away.

Defense lawyers contend that Mattingly was fighting for his life with an
armed drug dealer who, with three other people, had just robbed the
detective during an undercover drug buy.

Yesterday, four members of Mattingly's southwestern Jefferson County
platoon testified that Mattingly was in a dangerous situation fighting with
a drug dealer who they later discovered had a gun.

But those officers acknowledged that Mattingly never mentioned that he
believed Newby had a gun. And they said the detective never spoke the code
word that would indicate to the officers backing him up on the drug deal
that night that he was in danger.

Detective Kyle Willet, a member of the platoon, testified that Mattingly,
who was wearing a wire, said, "They robbed me, they robbed me," which
prompted the officers to drive, lights flashing, to Mattingly's vehicle.
The Gibson brothers testified that they saw Newby and Mattingly engaged in
a struggle, which broke up after they heard a shot fired.

"My immediate thought was Detective Mattingly has been shot," Mitchell
Gibson testified.

After falling back from the struggle, Mattingly steadied himself, raised
his weapon and fired his gun, both brothers said.

Soon after the shooting, Mattingly told Thomerson, "I thought I was shot;
he (Newby) had hold of my gun," Mitchell Gibson testified.

Matthew Gibson testified that the men who approached Mattingly that night,
one of whom was Newby, were "aggressive" and "overbearing" while trying to
sell the undercover detective drugs. One of the men tried at least twice to
open Mattingly's passenger side door, while another stood outside his
driver's-side window.

"It was a very tense situation," Matthew Gibson said.

After the other men had taken Mattingly's money and fled, Newby and
Mattingly struggled, with the detective at least twice telling Newby he was
a police officer, police and the Gibson brothers testified.

After the initial shot was fired and the men broke apart, the Gibson
brothers testified that they saw Newby move away. But their view of Newby
was blocked when Mattingly fired several shots.

None of the witnesses yesterday said they could see whether Newby was
running away from Mattingly when Mattingly fired the shots.

Willet said he saw Thomerson holding a gun on Newby, who was in a sitting
position. He pinned Newby and grabbed the teen's left hand, but Newby
continued to struggle and reached with his other hand toward his waist.

Willet recalled Newby saying: "I don't have anything."

Willet said Newby dropped a bag of drugs from his left hand as officers
Melinda Zirnheld and Bruce Goodfleisch tried to gain control of Newby's
right hand.

"It surprised me how hard he was fighting," Goodfleisch told the jury.

When Newby was finally handcuffed and rolled over, police noticed that he
had a gun in his waistband and was bleeding, said Sgt. Stan Salyards, a
member of Mattingly's platoon.

"I asked him if he was all right," Salyards told the jury. "He didn't answer."

[Sidebar]

Quick take The trial so far

Prosecutors tell a Jefferson County jury that former Louisville Metro
Police Detective McKenzie Mattingly made several "fatal" mistakes that led
him to shoot fleeing teenager Michael Newby in the back.

Defense lawyers argue that Mattingly was in a "fight for his life" with an
"aggressive, armed drug dealer."

Greg Hill, the owner of the western Louisville liquor and food store where
the shooting took place, testified that he saw Newby running away from
Mattingly when he was shot.

Yesterday's highlights

Four officers in Mattingly's platoon testified that Newby continued to
struggle and reach toward his waist after Mattingly shot at him. After
Newby was handcuffed, officers discovered the teen had been shot and had a
gun in his waistband.

Two twin brothers riding with Mattingly's platoon the night of the shooting
said Mattingly was shaken after Newby was shot and told another officer he
thought Newby had shot him.