Global Courant 2023-05-26 03:20:29
Three former Jackson Police Department officers were indicted by a grand jury last week on murder charges following the death of Keith Murriel, a Mississippi man who died in police custody on December 31, 2022.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens, II, announced the charges against former officers Kenya McCarty, Avery Willis and James Land at a news conference on Wednesday.
“All three officers have been charged with murder,” Owens said. “The district attorney’s office wants to recognize the courageous actions of the entire Jackson Police Department. And we don’t think the actions of a few represent the courage of so many.”
Owens said McCarty and Willis were each charged with manslaughter, while Land was charged with manslaughter.
“Ms. McCarty sincerely regrets the death of Mr. Murriel and extends her sincere condolences to his family and friends,” McCarty’s attorney Francis Springer said in a statement to ABC News Thursday. “Ms. McCarty does not believe she is guilty of the crime she was charged with or any other crime. She will plead not guilty.”
Springer told ABC News that no arraignment date has yet been set.
ABC News has reached out to Land’s lawyer, but requests for comment were not immediately responded to. Attempts to reach Willis directly for comment were unsuccessful. It is unclear whether Willis has engaged a lawyer.
Police bodycam video released by the City of Jackson, Miss., of Keith Murriel who died after being taken into custody on December 31, 2022.
The Jackson Police Department
Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Murriel’s family, told ABC News on Thursday that the charges provide “a measure of comfort” to the family.
“It’s been an extremely difficult time for the family knowing that Keith’s death was completely preventable,” Washington said.
“While the family would rather have Keith here with them, there is a measure of comfort in knowing that the officers have been charged with the egregious crime they committed last December,” he added. “We know this is only the first step in a long process, but we are encouraged by the thorough investigation that has been conducted and believe the officers will be held fully accountable for their wrongful actions.”
The City of Jackson released body camera footage of the incident on Wednesday that was reviewed by ABC News and shows officers groping Murriel several times as they try to handcuff him. Murriel can be heard repeatedly urging the officers to stop.
“The hardest thing for the family is hearing Keith tell the officers to stop,” Washington told ABC News Thursday.
Police bodycam video released by the City of Jackson, Miss., of Keith Murriel who died after being taken into custody on December 31, 2022.
The Jackson Police Department
After Murriel’s death, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the incident.
ABC News has contacted the MBI for a copy of the final report and a copy of Murriel’s autopsy.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who urged the MBI to release the video earlier this year, told reporters that the video is “voluminous” and consists of footage from several officers’ cameras, as well as area CCTV footage that recorded Murriel’s meeting with the police.
“We believe we have seen actions that are outrageous, disheartening and tragic,” Lumumba said.
Police bodycam video released by the City of Jackson, Miss., of Keith Murriel who died after being taken into custody on December 31, 2022.
The Jackson Police Department
Members of Murriel’s family, who Washington says have been calling on the MBI for months to release the body camera video, filed a lawsuit in April against the officers involved in the case.
“We chose not to release the video at that time because we didn’t want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation,” Lumumba said.
“As we released this video, we wanted to make it clear that we are on the side of justice and want to see justice done,” he added.
Jackson’s newly appointed police chief, Joseph Wade, offered his condolences to Murriel’s family at a press conference on Wednesday and pledged to be transparent.
“We strive at the Jackson Police Department to build trust in the community. When we fail, we create distrust in the community,” said Wade, urging the community to continue to support the officers who “work every day put their lives on the line”.
“We at JPD will remain transparent and we will continue to take accountability measures – not just from the bottom up, but also from the top down as we move forward,” he added.
Former Jackson police chief James Davis announced his retirement Friday, and Wade was named interim police chief.
Lumumba publicly disagreed with Davis in February after police released a statement saying that Murriel had experienced a “health emergency” that led to his death.
According to a Jackson Police Department press release given to the ABC affiliate, WAPTin January, officers responded to a call for service at the 500 block of E. Beasley Road at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 31, 2022.
“While at the scene, officers successfully took into custody an individual who was experiencing a medical emergency,” JPD said in the release, according to the branch. “American Medical Response was called to the scene to provide assistance; unfortunately, the person was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Asked at Wednesday’s press conference if Davis’s departure had anything to do with the reaction to the incident that led to Murriel’s death, Lumumda said “no”.
“I shared that, you know, I had a different take on it, but it had nothing to do with his decision to retire or my decision to accept his retirement,” he added.
