Mother of Kenneth Harding Demands Answers

The mother of Kenneth Harding Jr, the 19-year old Washington state parolee shot and killed following a confrontation with San Francisco police in the Bayview on July 13, has a lawyer. And now Denika Chatman wants answers.

Chatman, 38, addressed the media on Monday at the Oakland law offices of her new attorney, well-known civil rights litigator John Burris. Burris will push for answers from police and authorities, whose story concerning what happened that day "keeps changing," according to Burris.

Meanwhile, Chatman is bereaved. “I’m angry, and I’m hurt, and I want the truth, and I want justice to be done,” she said, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Harding was convicted in Washington state of attempting to pimp a young girl, a sex crime under sex offender laws. He was wanted for questioning in connection to a fatal shooting in Seattle when he died on Third Street in the Bayview on July 13.

Police originally said they had shot Harding after he fired a handgun at police following a run-in with Muni fare inspectors. After further investigation, police said the fatal round came from Harding's own gun. The gun has yet to be recovered, and many people in Bayview doubt the official version of events.