A Mississippi family has called for a police officer to be removed from duty and charged with aggravated assault for shooting an 11-year-old boy when police responded to the child’s domestic disturbance call at his home .
Aderrien Murry, who called police at the request of his mother, was unarmed and was following instructions from Indianola officer Greg Capers. Then Capers shot him in the chest early last Saturday morning, critically wounding him, family attorney Carlos Moore said.
The boy had called police at home after his mother, Nakala Murry, was threatened by a man at 4 a.m. local time, but Capers “escalated the situation,” Moore said. The man is a former partner of Nakala Murry, various media have suggested.
Nakala Murry said his son was “blessed” to be alive, but he couldn’t understand why an officer shot him.
“It was the worst time of my life and I feel like no one cares. He’s my child, y’all,” Nakala Murry said, as she wept in the hall of the town hall community during a sit-in protest on Thursday against the police action.
The small group of protesters sang We Shall Overcome, the gospel song that became a key protest anthem during the American civil rights movement.
Moore called for the body camera video to be released and objected to Capers being placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
“We demand justice. An 11-year-old black boy in the town of Indianola nearly lost his life,” Moore said. “He had done nothing wrong and everything was fine.”
Moore added to NBC: “The main question [Aderrien] asked is why did this happen to me? The child suffered from a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and fractured ribs. … He is blessed to have survived, but he is still suffering emotionally and mentally.
Murry was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for treatment. He stayed there for five days and was released and returned home on Wednesday.
Nakala Murry told cable media that the man arrived at her house “angry” and that she was worried about his safety. Then, when the policeman arrived, he already had his weapon drawn while he was at the front door, she said further.
Moore said two officers responded and one kicked the front door before the mother opened it. She told them the intruder had left the house but three children were inside, Moore said, adding that Nakala Murry told her Capers had shouted that anyone inside should come out with their hands up.
He said Aderrien walked into the living room with nothing in his hands, and Capers, who is black, shot him in the chest.
Indianola City Attorney Kimberly Merchant confirmed to Indianola’s Enterprise-Tocsin newspaper that Capers was the officer who fired the shots.
The police department was unavailable for comment. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
The majority black town of Indianola, home to 15,000, is about 100 miles north of Jackson, the state capital.