“He needs to be terminated and he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Indianola, MS — As TFTP reported last month, in yet another alarming example of the perils associated with dialing 911 for help, an unarmed 11-year-old boy found himself in the midst of a tragically aggressive law enforcement response for doing what he was taught by the system to do. His courageous act to protect his mother during a domestic disturbance ended with a taxpayer-funded round in his torso.
In true unaccountable fashion, the officer who shot him, Sgt. Greg Capers has been collecting a paycheck ever since and enjoying a certain level of protection. After backlash, however, Capers has finally been suspended without pay. This is the officer’s second such suspension.
If the average citizen incompetently shoots a child in the chest, they would be sitting in jail right now. But this officer still has a job and has yet to be charged with any crime.
Carlos Moore, the attorney representing the family of the boy, 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.
But this will likely not happen.
On that fateful night, the boy, Aderrien Murry, did exactly what he was instructed to do in such situations — he called 911 to report a domestic disturbance involving his mother and the father of his sibling. Rather than the assistance he sought, Aderrien was met with a violently disproportionate response. Capers, according to Moore, arrived on the scene with weapon drawn, preparing for battle rather than de-escalation.
The incident began in the early hours when the father of one of Nakala Murry’s children arrived at her home in a state of agitation. Fearful of what could transpire, Aderrien Murray’s mother, Nakala, asked her son to call 911 for assistance.
Little did she know, this would result in a traumatic turn of events for her Aderrien, who will carry the physical and psychological scars of this incident for the rest of his life. With plans to file a federal lawsuit and to convene a grand jury on a charge of aggravated assault against Officer Capers, the family and their attorney hope to bring about justice for Aderrien.
In recounting the nightmarish scene, Moore explained that despite the mother’s assurance that no one in the house was armed, Officer Capers ordered everyone out with their hands up. Seemingly unable to resolve the situation without senseless violence, despite Aderrien’s compliance, Capers fired his weapon, shooting the child in the chest.
The poignant words of the young boy lingered in the air, “Why did he shoot me? What did I do?” The disheartening irony that a plea for help was met with such reckless force cannot be ignored.
The shooting was captured on body camera footage but has not been released due to “an ongoing investigation.”
“We have a young, unarmed Black boy shot in the chest. [Capers] is a threat to the safety of the residents of Indianola,” Moore said. “He needs to face a grand jury of his peers for unnecessarily shooting this boy.”
We agree.
Murry has since filed a federal lawsuit against Indianola, the police chief, and Capers. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million and accuses Indianola of failing 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.
“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.”
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist
