Pressure is growing for officer to be fired and charged after an 11-year-old Mississippi, USA boy was shot by police after calling 911 for help.
Aderrien was shot in the chest by an Indianola Police Department officer early Saturday morning May 20, while the officer was responding to a domestic disturbance call at the child’s home, according to his mother, Nakala Murry, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
‘This should not have happened,’ Moore said.
‘The main question [Aderrien] has been asking is why did this happen to me? The child suffered a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and fractured ribs. … He’s blessed to have survived but he’s still in pain emotionally and mentally.’
On Thursday, May 25, a group of protesters called for accountability in the shooting of the unarmed boy during a rally at Indianola City Hall. CNN reports.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the shooting that happened 6 a.m. Saturday at a home on BB King Road.
‘No officers were injured during the incident. A minor occupant of the residence received significant injuries and has been transported to a local hospital,’ the agency said.
‘MBI is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Upon completing the investigation, agents will share their findings with the Attorney General’s Office.’
The officer, Greg Capers has been placed on paid administrative leave after a unanimous Indianola council vote.
The lawyer of the boy’s family said he was working to obtain body-camera video of the shooting.
Moore said the boy was shot after calling for help for his mother.
During a confrontation with the father of one of her children, Nakala Murry handed her phone to the boy and told him to call police and his grandmother, the family’s attorney said.
When police arrived, they were told the man was unarmed and had run out a back door and that three children were home, Moore said.
Police ordered everyone in the house to show themselves with their hands up, Moore said.
When the 11-year-old came out of a bedroom with his hands up, he was met by gunfire, the attorney said.
‘He shot him immediately when his hands were up, and he’s coming around the corner,’ Moore said.
Moore said that the officer should be fired and charged with aggravated assault.
‘I didn’t ask for a suspension with pay. I asked and demanded termination. Did I stutter?’ he said at a City Hall news conference Thursday.
‘When I say termination, I mean termination. You don’t give someone a paid vacation who committed such a reckless act.’
He said he expects the family to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.
‘We need to hold our law enforcement officers to a higher standard and ensure that they are trained to de-escalate situations and use non-lethal methods whenever possible,’ Moore said in a statement Thursday.
Moore told CNN the incident was captured on police body camera video.
The attorney said his request for the body camera footage was denied due to ‘an ongoing investigation.’
The body camera video of the incident has not been released publicly.
According to the boy’s family, he is recovering after being released from the hospital.
