Body-cam footage shows officer shooting 11-year-old Mississippi boy who called 911

A woman had just exited her Mississippi home last May as a police officer responding to a call about a domestic dispute entered the living room.

“Police!” Sgt. Greg Capers with the Indianola Police Department yelled as he walked into the home. A boy then darted into the living room with his hands over his head, according to newly released body-camera footage obtained by The Washington Post.

In a split second, 11-year-old Aderrien Murry, who’d called 911 for help, was shot in the chest by Capers, the video shows.

“Oh my God,” Capers can be heard yelling as Aderrien screams, gets to his feet and runs out the front door. The boy survived, but suffered a collapsed lung, fractured rib and lacerated liver.

The Murry family has since sued the police department, accusing it of reckless disregard, gross negligence and poor training and supervision of its officers. In the past seven months, they’ve also repeatedly called for the public release of Capers’s body-cam footage. The video was made available this week by Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety following a lengthy probe into the shooting by the state’s Bureau of Investigation.

Last month, the investigation’s findings were presented to a grand jury, which determined there was no criminal conduct by Capers in the case. Capers, who was placed on administrative leave in May, was reinstated following the decision.

Michael Carr, an attorney for Capers, told The Post in the statement that the footage’s release “was unexpected” and was supposed to be under a protective order as part of the ongoing lawsuit against his client. However, Carlos Moore, who’s representing Aderrien and his mother, Nakala Murry, said state law allowed the Department of Public Safety to release the video and other materials related to the Bureau of Investigation’s probe through public-records requests once the investigation was complete.

“The world can now see that the Murrys have told the truth about what really happened the entire time: That tragic morning could have been avoided,” Moore said.

The Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the release.

The video, about two minutes long culminating in the shooting, leaves questions unanswered in the case, including whether responding officers were told there were children inside the home.

David Harris, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law who specializes in police misconduct and use of force, said the more information officers are given, the better equipped they are to make difficult decisions.

“It all happens so fast that if the officer knew there were other people present - especially children - maybe another decision would have been made in that split second,” he said.

According to police records, the father of one of Nakala Murry’s children arrived at the home during the early hours of May 20, making her fearful, she told investigators. She gave Aderrien a phone and asked him to call for help.

Aderrien rushed to text his grandmother at 4:33 a.m., according to the Bureau of Investigation’s files, which includes a slew of witness statements, interview reports and police records related to the incident.

“Call the cops. Help” he texted, according to screenshots of the messages, followed by “Am scared.”

Aderrien’s grandmother called 911, and shortly after, the boy did, too, according to audio recordings obtained by The Post. Aderrien can be heard whispering for police to be sent to the house. At one point, he’s asked if the man inside is armed, and Aderrien says in a muffled tone, “No, I don’t think so.”

It’s unclear whether the dispatcher knew she was communicating with an 11-year-old boy or if she asked whether there were children at the home. Witnesses’ statements in the investigation report offer conflicting accounts.

In a May 20 interview, the dispatcher told investigators that she had advised the responding officers that she was in contact with Aderrien, records state. But in photos of two handwritten statements signed by the dispatcher, she notes that Nakala Murry had called in the domestic dispute. Throughout the body-cam footage, the dispatcher is heard referring to the caller as “she.”

When officers got to the home, Capers repeatedly banged on the door but no one answered. The dispatcher called Aderrien to notify him about the officers’ arrival, but he said the man wasn’t allowing them to go outside, according to the recordings. Then the dispatcher asks if officers can kick down the door. Aderrien says yes, and Capers is seen in the body-cam footage struggling to push it open.

Within about six seconds of Capers forcing the door open, Nakala Murry is ordered to walk out onto the front porch. Capers, who had his gun drawn, then enters the home while shouting for the man inside to come out. Seconds later, Aderrien ran into the living room and was shot.

In his own statements, Capers said the officers had been told that Aderrien’s grandmother made the 911 call. He said he was never told there were children inside.

Information about who’s present, or possibly armed, is crucial for officers responding to a domestic disturbance, Harris said.

“Domestic violence or domestic disturbance are some of the most dangerous calls police respond to,” Harris said. “So the more information you have about the situation you’re facing - whether there’s children, or pets or an armed person - the better off you are.”

Nakala Murry said in a news conference last month that she had watched the video of her son being shot, which left her feeling “disgusted, outraged and emotionally damaged.” She called on the footage to be released publicly, according to Mississippi Today.

“This has been a process of fighting for justice for my son,” she said.

- - -

Praveena Somasundaram contributed to this report.