Vol. 76/No. 26      July 16, 2012

Although the autopsy was conducted March 9-10 in the presence of medical examiners, state police, city cops and Orange County assistant district attorneys, the family didn’t get the report on it until June 13. It confirmed their worst suspicions. It showed Lembhard was shot 15 times, eight in the back.

“They didn’t do anything. They tried to sweep it under the rug, hoping we would go away,” Arlene Coolidge, Michael’s mother, told the Militant.

Chased by four cops in the city’s anti-crime squad, Lembhard fled into his sister’s house, closing the door behind him. The cops followed him inside, where they shot him, claiming he came at them with a knife.

At a June 18 press conference, members of the family talked about their fight and showed the report. It shows that 10 of the bullets fired went through Lembhard and five remained in his body. More than half of the shots had a downward slope. Eight hit him in the back of his torso, arms and legs.

“I wasn’t surprised at the report,” Mark Coolidge, Michael’s uncle, told the Militant. I did a thorough investigation of the apartment where he was shot. I found 14 bullet holes, a couple of them in the floor.”

Coolidge has compiled a book with photos and drawings that documents what the apartment looked like after the shooting. He cleaned it, numbered all the bullet holes, indicated the direction of the bullets with arrows and showed the location of the doors.

“I checked it with the police version of what happened,” he explained. “Nothing in their story adds up. Nothing. They murdered him.”

Gosford Lembhard, Michael’s older brother, said, “It’s enough now. It needs to stop. They meant to kill him. And they killed him.”

The family has won support from local community groups and other families whose relatives have been killed by cops here. They have demonstrated outside Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips’ office, calling for his resignation. They have spoken at virtually every city council meeting since the shooting, demanding a special investigation.

The Newburgh City Council has sent letters to the Orange County and state legislatures to have special prosecutors for all cases involving killings by the cops. “A special prosecutor in Michael’s case,” commented Edith King, Michael’s aunt, “while it’s a small thing, it means a lot to us.”

At the council meeting following the press conference June 18 the family urged council members to fire the cops involved in the shooting and for the district attorney to indict them. The family’s lawyer, Michael Sussman, has called on the city to bring charges against the cops and permanently remove them from the streets.

Grand jury proceedings started the same day. Family members who were in the apartment where Lembhard was shot will testify.

“Their story is slowly falling apart,” said Juanita King, Michael’s cousin. “We’ve come this far, because we’ve pushed and not given up. They’ve done nothing. We’ve done far more than can be asked of us. I don’t know where it’s going, we can only hope. But we’ll keep pushing.”

The killing of Lembhard followed two other police killings of African-American men in the Hudson Valley. Kenneth Chamberlain, 68, was shot dead by White Plains cops November 19. Herve Gilles, 48, was killed by Spring Valley cops December 14. Both cases were presented to grand juries. Both declined to indict the cops responsible.
 
 
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