Bumped with Update:

On Christmas Eve in Uniontown, PA, near Pittsburgh, 12 year old Michael Ellerbe, an African American boy, was shot in the back by police and killed during a police chase. Prominent lawyer Jeffrey Feiger is representing the family and has promised a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Ellerbe "was shot through the heart from behind while being pursued on foot by two state troopers. He was allegedly running from a stolen, wrecked sport-utility vehicle. "To shoot someone in the back requires as deliberate an act as I can possibly imagine," said Fieger, who has also represented Jack Kevorkian. "There is no excuse for shooting a 12-year-old in the back...."

Ellerbe's family has said that the boy was neither armed nor driving the vehicle.

The inquest hearing was today. Our source tells us there appears to be a "white-washing" of the incident. We don't know, but we're bringing it up in case someone wants to look into it further.

Update: The coronor's inquest jury has ruled that the police shooting was justified. One of Ellerbe's lawyers, Joel Sansone, says there's a coverup and that a ten year old witness said three shots were fired, not two--and that both troopers fired at Ellerbe. However, during the inquest, the youth was not asked about how many shots were fired.

Update: More news coverage, including CNN:

And the Guardian:

Here and here are some local reports, and not press pool clippings:

And this perhaps telling quote :
No cameras or recording equipment will be permitted into a Monday inquest set to investigate the death of 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe.

The NAACP is also speaking up, see here and here.