NAACP executive board members met with Mayor Corning this morning, but maintained silence regarding details of their hour-long conference about the William Brown shooting.
Even as they talked, funeral services for Brown, 23, of 38 Broad St., were starting at Garland Brothers Funeral, 75 Clinton Ave. The Rev. Charles M. Walker, pastor of Faith Baptist Church, left the meeting in City Hall about 9:45 a.m. so he could officiate at the funeral.
Brown was shot down in Herkimer St. July 17 after he ran from police officers attempting to question him. The NAACP has protested the shooting, but Acting Police Chief Anthony J. Dean said: “The officers were justified in shooting Brown in performance of their duty.”
Will Meet Again
The five who met with the mayor at 9:30 a.m. said afterward they will meet with him again. The mayor affirmed this. Beyond that neither the NAACP group nor the mayor would comment.
Both Mayor Corning and the NAACP group were asked if there will be a full scale hearing on the shooting, one of two kinds of actions which can be taken when a police officer shoots a man. Neither group would comment.
The other action could be to have the shooting submitted to a grand jury.
Those who met with the mayor were: Peter M. Pryor, chairman of the NAACP’s legal redress committee; Dr. Erich Nussbaum and Dr. James Cunningham, excutive board members; Mr. Walker and Mrs. Samuel B. Jefferson.
Refuse to Talk
Today the NAACP group refused to discuss what they hoped to clear up by having a meeting with the mayor.
The meeting broke up at about 10:30 a.m. At 11, the funeral cortege accompanying the body of Brown to its resting place in Graceland Cemetery deliberately paraded past City Hall. There were about 40 cars, containing 200 persons, in the procession.
James C. Garland, one of the proprietors of Garland Brothers funeral home, said the undertakers were unable to seat all of the persons who attended the funeral.
Usually Works
Regarding the scheduling of the meeting, Saturday morning, Mayor Corning said he usually works Saturdays.
Police authorities have said no censure is planned against the two police officers, Melvin Weaver and John Sheldon, involved in the shooting.
According to police, the officers tried to question Brown on complaint of Leamon Grady, a Negro companion, who said Brown threatened him at knife point. Brown knocked a police officer down and ran when the officers were trying to handcuff him, police said.