Three former Jackson, Mississippi, police officers have been charged in the death of Keith Murriel, who died soon after a fight with the cops on New Year’s Eve in a hotel parking lot.
CNN got footage from a police body camera that shows the officers saying that they were called to the scene by hotel security because Murriel had been asked to leave the parking lot several times for supposedly harassing people. The video shows that the police tased the 41-year-old man several times as he writhed and screamed in pain during their contact with him.
In neither of the two tapes that were about an hour long that an attorney for Murriel’s estate, Daryl Washington, sent to CNN, could anyone be seen helping Murriel?
Indictments from May 19 say that Kenya McCarty and Avery Willis, two of the former cops, have been charged with second-degree murder. James Land is the third person who has been charged with killing.
In addition to the criminal charges, Murriel’s estate is also suing the cops. Washington filed a civil lawsuit against the officers, saying that Murriel lost consciousness after being tased several times and was left alone in the back of a police car for about an hour until emergency medical services came.
“At no point did (the officers) check on Murriel to see if he was okay, even though they saw that he wasn’t responding, couldn’t walk on his own, and needed medical help,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit said that Murriel was taken to a hospital, where he died. The lawsuit says that he died because his heart stopped beating. CNN asked the Hinds County Coroner about how and why Murriel died but did not get a response right away.
Francis Springer, McCarty’s lawyer, told CNN that his client “sincerely regrets Mr. Murriel’s death and sends her deepest condolences to his family and friends,” but that she “doesn’t think she’s guilty of the crime she’s been charged with or of any other crime.”
The tweet below verifies the news:
3 Former Mississippi police officers are charged in man’s death after New Year’s Eve confrontation https://t.co/ffIgUvtLgV
— Erie News Now (@ErieNewsNow) May 27, 2023
Springer said that McCarty, who is out of jail on a $150,000 bond, will say that he is not guilty.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones told CNN that Willis turned himself in on Friday morning and is now waiting to be charged. CNN hasn’t been able to find out if Willis has a lawyer or not.
Jones says that Land has been set free on a $75,000 bail. CNN tried to get in touch with Land’s lawyer but did not hear back right away.
CNN has asked for police files that explain what happened, but they haven’t given them to them yet.
At a news conference on Wednesday, the mayor of Jackson, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, said that what he had seen was “excessive, disheartening, and tragic.”
“This is not in line with the public safety vision that not only this administration but also the men and women of the Jackson Police Department, want to put forward,” Lumumba said.
At a news conference, Jackson’s interim police chief, Joseph Wade, said that when his department fails, “we create community distrust.”
“As we move forward, the Jackson Police Department will continue to be open and have accountability measures in place, not just from the bottom up but also from the top down.”
Click on the following links for more news from the California Examiner:
- Three Former Jackson Police Officers Charged With Homicide in Keith Murriel’s De@th
- An Illinois Man Who D!ed in WWII Will Be Buried in Killeen, Texas
What the Video From the Cops Show
Videos show that McCarty and Willis were the first ones to answer the call. From what the police say in the video, it looks like they led Murriel out of the hotel. McCarty could be heard saying that Murriel went back to the hotel before the cops left.
Willis can be seen tackling Murriel from behind and knocking him to the ground just seconds after his body camera video starts. When McCarty approaches Murriel, both officers tell him over and over to put his hands behind his back.
The video shows that McCarty tases Murriel for the first time 20 seconds after he hits the ground.
In the first few minutes of the fight, Murriel doesn’t seem to follow the officers’ orders easily, even though they tell him over and over again to do so.
Washington, on the other hand, says in his civil claim that Murriel was not fighting back and never tried to hurt the police or anyone else. In the lawsuit, Washington says that Murriel can be heard saying, “Please stop!” to the police.
The video shows that the cops tase Murriel again and again, even after he is in the police car.
The civil suit also says that the cops didn’t seem to care about Murriel.
“They made fun of how they treated Murriel and how bad he was. “It was clear that Murriel was in serious medical trouble and needed help right away, but they didn’t give it to her,” the case says.
Willis can be heard on the body camera video saying, “That was funny.”
Land said, “At first it was funny, but after a while it got annoying.”
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