Following a Sunflower County grand jury’s ruling that Indianola police officer Greg Capers had not broken any laws when he shot an 11-year-old boy and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office following suit by not pursuing further charges, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the boy’s family asking for $5 million.
The lawsuit filed by Aderrien Murry’s family also demanded the dismissal of IPD Chief Ronald Sampson for alleged violations of the fourth and fourteenth amendments. However, Judge Debra Brown of the Northern District Court of Mississippi ruled this week that Murry’s case could not be sufficiently argued since it was not filed under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, which must be used when suing a government agency and its employees for actions within the scope of employment.
Additionally, Brown noted in her ruling that the lawsuit failed to state claims of civil-rights violations, and that Murry did not wait the required 90 days before filing the lawsuit.
“Because Murry does not allege that Capers intentionally shot A.M., she fails to sufficiently state claims for Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment violations based on excessive force, and Capers and Sampson are entitled to qualified immunity,” Judge Brown wrote.
On May 20, 2023, Murry was shot by Capers during a domestic disturbance call despite the minor being unarmed and obeying commands with his hands in the air, according to attorney Carlos Moore. Capers has also been accused of tasing and choking an active military member while handcuffed in a separate incident. Murry, now 13, survived the incident but suffered a collapsed lung, lacerated liver, and fractured ribs.
“He was shot by Greg Capers for simply following orders. There is no justification,” Moore said after the shooting. “There will never be a justification. I don’t care if they try to prepare a statement or come up with an excuse. This is inexplicable. It will never be justified. It’s senseless.”
Capers was placed on non-paid administrative leave following the shooting in 2023. After a grand jury did not indict him on criminal charges, he returned to work as a sergeant in December of the same year.
It’s unclear at this time if Moore and Murry’s family will use the 14-day period to amend the complaint and refile.
