(FinalCall.com)�Black Seattle residents, up in arms over the latest ruling that the death of a Black man at the hands of a White police officer was justified, took to the streets again Sept. 29 in protest.

This latest demonstration took marchers from the courthouse, where prosecutor Norm Maleng must decide whether or not to file charges, through downtown Seattle to the Sea Hawks Stadium for the Sunday afternoon football game.

"There have been nine killings of Black men over the past nine years by police officers and nothing�s been done," Oscar Eason, president of the Seattle branch of the NAACP told The Final Call. "We want national attention to this issue. There are a rash of killings going on here and with very few Blacks in the jury pool, the hearings usually have an all-White jury which finds in favor of the police department."

Robert Thomas Sr. was killed last year by off-duty Deputy Sheriff Melvin Miller as he sat in his truck. He was lost in the White rural neighborhood of officer Miller and was parked on a street shoulder while he examined a map. A neighbor called officer Miller, who agreed to investigate.

Mr. Thomas� son, Robert L. Thomas Jr., and his girlfriend, Gina-Marie Munnell, who was in the back seat, said officer Miller approached, made brief statements, pulled a gun and started shooting.  Robert Jr. said that in addition to being in plainclothes, officer Miller did not identify himself as a sheriff�s deputy.

The officer said he fired because Robert Sr. aimed a gun in his direction.

Columnist Robert Jamieson Jr. of the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper explained it like this in his column: "On that fateful Sunday morning, a neighbor called and told the deputy (Mr. Miller) there were �eek! � Black people in a truck blocking the road. The truck�s occupants, the neighbor said, were drinking.

"So Miller, in plainclothes, approached the truck. He reportedly shouted, and would later admit to not identifying himself as an officer. What happened next is in dispute�whether Miller or Thomas reached for his gun first. Whichever the case, Miller was quicker on the trigger and fired, in self-defense, he said."

After a three-week inquiry, a jury came back with a 5-1 verdict that Mr. Thomas "posed an immediate threat of serious harm" to officer Miller.

In Seattle, inquests are not meant to determine criminal or civil liability. They are standard procedure when a police officer has been involved in a fatal shooting. Its purpose is to present a six-citizen inquest panel with information regarding a police shooting.

The panel then decides whether the shooting was justified, though its finding is only advisory to the King County Prosecutor�s Office, which ultimately decides whether to file charges.

"We�ll be marching around the courthouse nine times every day until the prosecutor renders his decision on the Robert Thomas case," said Mr. Eason. "We�re not na�ve about this. We�re expecting the prosecutor to continue business as usual in Seattle by declining to prosecute. But we want to keep the pressure on."

They are also demanding that prosecutor Maleng file charges against Seattle police officers involved in the Shawn Maxwell killing earlier this year.

Carl Mack, vice president of the local NAACP, said, "It is unfortunate that juries in both cases reviewed the evidence through racially tinted glasses." 

According to Mr. Mack, after racially profiling Mr. Maxwell on Feb. 18, two White officers ordered his vehicle to the curb, shot him first with stun guns and then fired four fatal bullets into him.

What�s happening in Seattle is not isolated, as cases of police killings of Black men reach national attention, explained Matthew Fogg, director of the Congress Against Racism and Corruption in Law Enforcement. He was contacted by Mr. Eason to provide assistance to the Black community�s struggle for justice.

"I�m seeing a pattern all across America where White police officers are killing Black men without fear of reprisal. It�s happening on the West Coast almost as much as it happens on the East Coast. Something has to be done because the bigots with badges are getting out of control," Mr. Fogg told The Final Call.

Rev. Damon Lynch of the Cincinnati Black United Front told The Final Call that they too had been contacted by people in Seattle on how to resolve the killings of Black men by the police.

In Cincinnati, the Black citizens are conducting a boycott that has organizations and performers refusing to come to the city as long as the racial tensions continue.