Diallo's Mother Speaks

The trial of four New York City police officers accused of killing West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is in full swing in Albany, N.Y. With the exception of one day of graphic testimony, his mother, Kadiatou Diallo, has attended every day of the trial.

As CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras reports, Mrs. Diallo has a regal quality about her and an invisible veil of serenity, but she is a mother who is still mourning the death of her eldest child.

"I miss him a lot, everything about my son, his smiles, his voice, his kindness," said Mrs. Diallo.

It was a year ago, in the vestibule of his New York City apartment building, that 23-year-old Amadou Diallo was killed in a fusillade of 41 police bullets. The four officers who discharged their guns that night thought they had found a rapist they were after, and claimed Diallo appeared to reach for a weapon. Investigators proved he was unarmed.

When asked if she thought the shooting could have been just a terrible, terrible mistake, Mrs. Diallo responded, "As a mother, I believe that life is precious. It is so precious that I find it difficult to understand that word 'mistake.'"

And when asked if the shooting was a result of racism, she stated, "Not necessarily. But I can say that maybe the way he was approached. We find out that Amadou did nothing wrong. He was unarmed, did nothing wrong, never had any criminal problem in this country, so definitely something is wrong."

Mrs. Diallo has been co-opted by activists against racism and police brutality. But she says her primary goal is to tell people who her son was: a young man from an educated, well-off African family who took a job as a street vendor in order to pay for his schooling. He was an immigrant who loved the United States.

"He always loved everything about America," recalled his mother. "He loved everything about the sports, basketball, music."

Despite the tragedy that befell Amadou, Diallo says that if any of her other children want to come live in America, she would let them.

"I would let them because that would be a decision I can salute, because it would be a way for them to realize a dream their brother had."

Diallo hopes the death of her eldest child will not have been in vain.

"I would hope that Amadou's death will bring people together so people cannot judge somebody by the color of their skin. I still believe in this country, and I do not want my son's dream to be just a dream."

She thinks the legacy of this case will be that "not every young black man will be suspicious or will be somehow a target. So I think before they approach any other person again they will think twice."