Current:Home > ContactPolice officer who shot 11-year-old Mississippi boy suspended without pay -TradeWisdom
Police officer who shot 11-year-old Mississippi boy suspended without pay
View
Date:2025-04-17 09:00:27
A Mississippi police officer who shot and wounded an unarmed 11-year-old Black boy in the child's home has been suspended without pay, a city official said Tuesday.
The Indianola Board of Aldermen voted Monday night to immediately stop paying Sgt. Greg Capers, board member Marvin Elder said Tuesday. Capers, who is Black, had previously been suspended with pay, according to Carlos Moore, the attorney representing the family of the boy, Aderrien Murry.
Moore said the family is still pushing to get Capers fired. "He needs to be terminated and he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Moore said.
Murry was hospitalized for five days with a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and fractured ribs after Capers shot him in the chest on May 20, Moore said. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is examining the case, as is customary with shootings involving law enforcement, but Capers has not been charged with any crime.
Capers' attorney, Michael Carr, said the Board's 4-1 vote was cast during a "closed-door, unnoticed" meeting without informing him or his client.
"This is very disturbing to Sgt. Capers, and he should have been allowed due process," Carr said. "They have no evidence Sgt. Capers intentionally shot this young man, which he didn't. Everything that happened was a total and complete accident."
Carr added that body camera footage would prove Capers did nothing wrong. "I thank God that Sgt. Capers was wearing a bodycam," Carr said.
The shooting happened in Indianola, a town of about 9,300 residents in the rural Mississippi Delta, about 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Jackson.
Nakala Murry asked her son to call the police about 4 a.m. when the father of one of her other children showed up at her home, Moore said. Two officers went to the home, and one kicked the front door before Murry opened it. She told them the man causing a disturbance had left the home, but three children were inside, Moore said.
According to Murry, Capers yelled into the home and said anyone inside should come out with their hands up, Moore said. He said Aderrien walked into the living room with nothing in his hands, and Capers shot him in the chest.
Murry has filed a federal lawsuit against Indianola, the police chief and Capers. The lawsuit, which seeks at least $5 million, says Indianola failed to properly train the officer and that Capers used excessive force. Murry also filed an affidavit, reviewed by The Associated Press, calling for criminal charges against Capers. That affidavit will be considered at an Oct. 2 probable cause hearing in the Sunflower County Circuit Court.
"This is only the beginning," Murry said in a written statement. "I look forward to seeing Greg Capers terminated, and never allowed to work for law enforcement again."
- In:
- Mississippi
- Politics
- Crime
- Shootings
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Republican Liz Cheney endorses Kamala Harris
- California settles lawsuit with Sacramento suburb over affordable housing project
- What to Know About Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic Runner Set on Fire in a Gasoline Attack
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Led by Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever clinch first playoff berth since 2016
- 1000-Lb. Sisters’ Tammy Slaton Picks Up Sister Amy’s Kids After Her Arrest
- A transgender teen in Massachusetts says other high schoolers beat him at a party
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- 90-year-old Navy veteran shot, killed during carjacking in Houston, police say
Ranking
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- A transgender teen in Massachusetts says other high schoolers beat him at a party
- Maryland will participate in the IRS’s online tax filing program
- Save Up to 74% on Pants at Old Navy: $8 Shorts, $9 Leggings & More Bestsellers on Sale for a Limited Time
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Michael Keaton Is Ditching His Stage Name for His Real Name After Almost 50 Years
- Alaska governor vetoes bill requiring insurance cover a year of birth control at a time
- Woman who 'blacked out from drinking 6 beers' accused of stealing casket with body inside
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Questions swirl around attempted jailbreak in Congo as families of victims demand accountability
Mark Meadows asks judge to move Arizona’s fake elector case to federal court
Daniel Craig opens up about filming explicit gay sex scenes in new movie 'Queer'
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Olivia Munn Shares Health Update Amid Breast Cancer Journey
Michael Keaton explains how Jenna Ortega made new 'Beetlejuice' movie happen
Why isn't Rashee Rice suspended? What we know about Chiefs WR's legal situation