Nearly seven months after an Indianola police officer shot an 11-year-old boy in the chest during a domestic call, a Sunflower County grand jury decided not to indict him after hearing evidence from the attorney general’s office, according to a Thursday statement from the office.
Meanwhile the child’s mother, after finally seeing the body camera footage from the shooting is asking for it to be released publicly.
“Watching that footage was nothing I was prepared for emotionally, but it was something I had to do,” Nakala Murry, the mother of Aderrien, said Wednesday during a press conference in Grenada. “I feel disgusted, outraged and emotionally damaged, but in all of those feelings I feel blessed. This has been a process of fighting for justice for my son.”
The early morning of May 20, police were called to the Murry home because the father of her younger child had come there and his behavior was worrying. Officer Greg Capers, one of the officers standing in the doorway, fired his weapon as Aderrien entered the room, hitting the boy in the chest.
Murry, her attorney and supporters have been calling for Capers to face criminal charges, but the grand jury did otherwise..
Michael Carr, who is representing Capers, said Thursday his client is relieved and the attorney is glad the grand jury was able to review the facts of the case and the law and find that there was no criminal intent.
But the Murrys’ attorney, Carlos Moore, said he will continue to press for justice in light of the grand jury decision.
“While the grand jury has spoken, we firmly believe that there are unanswered questions and that the shooting of Aderrien Murry was not justified,” he said in a Thursday statement. “We are committed to seeking justice for Aderrien and his family, and we will persist in our efforts to ensure accountability through the civil legal process.”
Until last week, Nakala Murry had not been able to see Capers’ body camera footage, Moore said.
Arguments for and against the release of the body camera video have played out in a federal lawsuit Murry filed in May against Capers, the city and Police Chief Ronald Sampson.
The city and police chief asked for the video to be sealed from public view to protect Aderrien’s privacy, but his name has been public since the shooting.
Moore filed a motion to compel the release of the video, which a judge approved last week but with restrictions: Nakala Murry, Moore and his legal team could view it, but they would not be allowed to share the video or any description about it publicly.
Although they are not able to release the video, the city can.
“I am here to demand the city of Indianola release it to the public,” Moore said Wednesday.
That day, Moore filed an objection to U.S. Magistrate Judge David Sanders’ order, making it clear that they wanted to be able to disseminate the body camera video and talk about it. Moore wrote that the evidence should have been filed with the circuit clerk’s office – making it a public record.
That order will be appealed, Moore said. He said there is no set timeline of when the district court judge would make a ruling, but he hopes they will rule in his client’s favor and side with the public.
Carr previously told Mississippi Today that the shooting was an accident and that body camera footage would show that. Capers thought the person he shot at was the adult man they were called about, not a child, according to court records.
After the shooting, Capers was placed on paid administrative leave and later that leave was changed to unpaid leave. Capers went before the Board of Aldermen most recently in November to ask for his job back, but his return has not been approved, the Enterprise-Tocsin reported.
Carr said Thursday that the aggravated assault charge is likely to be dropped as a result of the grand jury’s ruling.
While the past months have been difficult, Nakala Murry said, she is hopeful. Aderrien is doing better with the help of counseling and support from family and friends, and he sees how his mother is standing up for him.
She said she prays that the right thing is done, and that what happened to her son can serve as an opportunity to hold officers accountable.
“Every day is a fight, but it’s one I’m willing to take,” she said.
UPDATE 12/14/23: This story has been updated to reflect action of Sunflower County grand jury.
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