OWENSBORO, Ky. — Owensboro officials will not apologize for the death of a black motorist by a city police officer, nor will the officer be disciplined, Mayor Waymond Morris announced.

        Civil-rights leaders were disappointed Friday that officials refused their demands for an apology, disciplinary action or police policy changes following the white officer's shooting of Tyrone Clayton, 22, Nov. 16.

        The local NAACP chapter had requested the apology and disciplinary action against Officer Lohrn Frazier, but Mr. Morris released a statement saying the city would not apologize or take action against Officer Frazier.

        The city did agree to provide more extensive training on stress factors that may make police officers unsuitable for carrying firearms.

        The city will also “seriously consider” having an outside law-enforcement agency investigate any future police shootings. And the police department's use-of-force policy will be “thoroughly reviewed” next year as part of a department review, the statement said.

        “Even though substantial differences remain, all concerned recognize the importance of personal communication and the need to establish common ground for the good of the community.”

        “They didn't do a whole lot with what we proposed,” said Kenny Riley, president of the Owensboro NAACP chapter and a Daviess County sheriff's deputy. “To me, it was the same picture, with just a different frame.”

        The shooting of a black man by a white officer stirred racial tension in Kentucky's third-largest city and brought months of staged protests in front of City Hall. The Rev. Louis Coleman, leader of the Justice Resource Center in Louisville, joined local black leaders in calling for changes in the use-of-force policy.

        Specifically, they asked that police officers be trained not to stand in front of vehicles that could hit them. Officer Frazier said he shot Mr. Clayton because he feared he was about to be run over by the suspect.

        An internal report said Officer Frazier acted inappropriately. Police Capt. Steve Kimble said in his report that Officer Frazier was no longer in danger of being run over when he fired the second of two shots — the fatal one.

        A grand jury received the report but declined to bring criminal charges; the police department later concluded Officer Frazier had not violated policy.

        Mr. Coleman was upset with Owensboro's response but said he was not surprised. He said it's typical of the “historical pattern” of responses to police brutality in his 30 years of civil-rights work in Kentucky.

        “That's not enough,” Mr. Coleman said of the city's statement. “If you can't admit there is some fault in your actions, then you don't have the will to do the right thing.”

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