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Pubdate: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Copyright: 2003 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: Allison Kennedy Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) SHARPTON PLANS TO VISIT COLUMBUS OVER SHOOTING Local NAN leader says presidential candidate coming within 10 days The Rev. Al Sharpton, a national civil rights leader and presidential candidate, is heading to Columbus. He's accepted an invitation to visit the area sometime in the next 10 days, a National Action Network representative said Wednesday during a news conference. The NAN, headed locally and statewide by Columbus' A.D. Carter, is the activist organization Sharpton heads nationally. Sharpton is expected to address last week's shooting death of Kenneth B. Walker, a black Columbus resident whose funeral was Tuesday. "A lot of people feel we need some national presence. This issue is not isolated in the country," Carter said, speaking at Spirit Filled Ministries. Walker and three friends were riding in a gray GMC Yukon along I-185 on Dec. 10 when they were stopped by officers with the Metro Narcotics Task Force Agency and the sheriff's department, according to official accounts. Acting on a tip from an informant that a Yukon would be carrying armed men from Miami, deputies and agents ordered the men to exit the vehicle. Walker was shot in the head after authorities say he failed to comply with the deputy's commands. Authorities later learned that none of the men was armed and none was in possession of drugs. The three other passengers in the Yukon were questioned by authorities and released. Sheriff Ralph Johnson said there was no information that Walker had been involved in any kind of criminal activity. Johnson has refused to release the name of the deputy involved in the shooting, citing it as part of the investigation. The deputy, an officer with more than 18 years of service, has been suspended from the department. The shooting is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a preliminary inquiry. Carter said Wednesday that Sharpton, who will let local NAN officials know Friday the exact date of his visit, is not coming to Columbus "to agitate... . First of all, African-Americans are intelligent people. We don't have to express ourselves using violence." Carter, 27, said Sharpton had already been invited some months ago to make a campaign stop in Columbus. The Rev. Wayne Baker, of Spirit Filled, led a community rally Monday at the Columbus Government Center. He is also the president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, a group of black clergy. At the rally, he called on white clergy to get involved in what many see as a tragic injustice to an innocent man. Carter, a member of Spirit Filled, praised Baker for his leadership. "I am extremely proud of him," Carter said. Baker offered no additional comment Wednesday about the possibility of Sharpton's visit. The local Rainbow PUSH Coalition has asked its national president, Jesse Jackson, to come to Columbus. It is not known yet whether he will visit. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh