Mississippi Bureau of Investigation
A Mississippi 911 dispatcher was informed {that a} man allegedly making an attempt to enter a house final Might was unarmed and that there have been kids contained in the residence — the place one officer shot and wounded 11-year-old Aderrien Murry, who had known as police for assist.
Carlos Moore, the lawyer representing the Murry household, says the recordings he launched on Friday “straight contradict the preliminary police account and lift severe questions concerning the dealing with of the scenario that led to the tragic capturing.”
“This significant info ought to have been recognized to the responding officers and will have knowledgeable their method to the scenario,” Moore mentioned in an announcement.
Moore launched the 5 minutes of audio recordings to reporters after the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation initially declined to take action.
Earlier this week, physique digicam footage from the incident was additionally launched and obtained by NPR.
Neither the Indianola Police Division nor the dispatcher, Jada Rush, responded to NPR’s requests for remark following the discharge of the physique digicam footage and the recording of the 911 name positioned by Aderrien.
Final month, a grand jury in Mississippi decided that there was no prison conduct by the officer, Sgt. Greg Capers, and no additional motion or fees might be taken towards him.
On Might 20, Aderrien known as 911 on the request of his mom, Nakala Murry, to ask for assist after a still-unidentified man arrived at their home. A 911 dispatcher, Jada Rush, obtained his name, confirmed his deal with after which despatched law enforcement officials to the home.
On one of many tapes, Rush will be heard calling Aderrien again to inform him concerning the officers’ arrival. Aderrien mentioned the person wasn’t permitting his household to go outdoors. Aderrien additionally confirmed to the dispatcher that the unidentified man concerned within the home dispute along with his mom had no weapons.
“OK, [officers] are asking if they’ve your permission to kick the door in?” Rush then mentioned.
“Sure,” Aderrien mentioned.
For a number of seconds through the name as officers started to enter the house, the audio went silent — apart from Aderrien’s respiratory, whereas he stayed on the cellphone with 911.
Within the background of the decision, Sgt. Greg Capers, one of many officers responding to the incident, is heard saying, “Come out, sir — do not make us are available.” (This portion of audio matches what’s seen and heard within the physique digicam footage launched by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.)
“Police! Should you bought any weapons, you higher put them down,” Capers says.
Round 5 seconds after Capers requested the query, he opened hearth, capturing the 11-year-old within the chest, the physique digicam footage reveals. The dialog between officers and people within the house is faintly heard within the background because the 911 dispatcher was nonetheless on the road with Aderrien.
One other recording accommodates a 911 name from Aderrien’s grandmother, telling Rush to ship police to the Murry’s house after Aderrien known as her. Rush confirmed this in her statements to the MBI.
The recordings present extra readability into what occurred the evening of Might 20 — notably since Rush’s accounting of the occasions appears to have modified. In paperwork from an interview with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation dated Might 20, 2023, Rush informed investigators that she had been on the cellphone with the 11-year-old.
Photographs of two handwritten statements signed by Rush within the MBI recordsdata obtained by NPR present that Rush revised her assertion.
Within the first assertion dated Might 20, she mentioned Nakala Murry known as within the home dispute, and never Aderrien or his grandmother. However a second, revised assertion, dated Might 25, didn’t identify Nakala Murry because the caller.
It’s nonetheless unclear whether or not Rush requested the callers whether or not there have been kids current on the house.
Aderrien survived the capturing. He suffered a collapsed lung, a fractured rib and a lacerated liver from the incident.
The Indianola Police Division didn’t reply to NPR’s request for remark relating to the discharge of the physique digicam footage or the 911 name positioned by Aderrien.
Aderrien’s mom, Nakala Murry, informed NPR previous to the discharge of each the bodycam footage and the 911 audio recording that the capturing might have been averted.
“Issues want to alter. Individuals want to point out extra accountability. Legal guidelines have to be [changed],” Murry mentioned.
Capers has since returned to work with the Indianola Police Division.
In Might, the Murry household filed a $5 million federal lawsuit, saying that the law enforcement officials who responded to the incident acted in a manner that was “so outrageous that it shocks the ethical and authorized conscience of the neighborhood.”
The lawsuit filed by Carlos Moore, the household’s lawyer, accuses the police of violating Aderrien Murry’s civil rights — particularly the Fourth Modification’s safety towards using extreme power and the 14th Modification’s assure of due course of.