Here we go again…
Apparently, it was obvious enough that Indianola, Mississippi, police officer Sgt. Greg Capers had done wrong when he responded to a domestic disturbance by shooting an unarmed 11-year-old Black boy in the chest that Capers was suspended without pay for what he did. Somehow, however, it wasn’t as obvious to a grand jury, because it has been decided that Capers will not be charged criminally for the egregious shooting of Aderrien Murry.
According to CBS News, a Sunflower County grand jury—in the same state where cops jailed a 10-year-old Black boy for urinating in public— decided Thursday that an 11-year-old Black boy nearly being killed by a cop who fired shots for no discernable reason wasn’t worth said cop facing criminal charges. At this point, it’s hard to tell if Capers gets to walk away without charges because police officers almost always get the benefit of the doubt or because the adultification of Black children is as American as apple pie, baseball and, well, the violent and systemic persecution of Black people. (Either way, it smells like racism no matter how Black Capers happens to be.)
Let’s just take a quick look at how we got here, according to the Murry family’s attorney, Carlos Moore.
From CBS News:
On the evening of the shooting, Nakala Murry asked her son to call police around 4 a.m. when the father of one of her other children showed up at her home, Moore said. Two officers went to the home and one kicked the front door before Nakala Murry opened it. She told them the man they called about had left, and that three children were inside the home, Moore said.
According to Nakala Murry, Capers yelled into the home and ordered anyone inside to come out with their hands up, Moore said. He said Aderrien Murry walked into the living room with nothing in his hands, and Capers shot him in the chest.
That’s it. That’s the uncontested story of Capers shooting Adderien. The cops were called for a domestic disturbance. They kicked in the door like they were there for a known killer or domestic terrorist, instead of a man who was neither, as far as they knew, and was no longer at the home. And despite being told the man they were called for wasn’t there and that, besides the mother, there were only children in the house, Capers came in red hot and fired a shot that could have taken an innocent child’s life.
TF you mean Capers wasn’t charged?
“While the grand jury has spoken, we firmly believe that there are unanswered questions and that the shooting of Aderrien Murry was not justified,” Moore said. “We are committed to seeking justice for Aderrien and his family.”
As we previously reported, the Murry family has filed a $5 million federal lawsuit against Indianola, the police chief, and Capers alleging that Indianola failed to properly train the officer and that Capers used excessive force. According to CBS, the family plans to file a second lawsuit to pursue claims under state law next month in Sunflower County Circuit Court. Hopefully, Aderrien and his family will receive every cent they’re asking for, but the question we should be asking is how a police officer gets to become a sergeant without being properly trained.
Maybe it’s not the training. Maybe it’s by design that cops are simply more aggressive when dealing with Black citizens and/or suspects. And maybe that’s why the “justice” system works so hard to protect them.
Anyway, Capers’ future with the police department is still uncertain. According to his attorney, Michael Carr, the only way he can return to work is if the Indianola Board of Aldermen, which voted to put him on unpaid administrative leave in June, votes to let him return.
