The mother of an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by police joined protesters on Thursday to demand bodycam footage of the incident released and the officer involved be fired.
Nakala Murry’s son Aderrien was shot in the chest after calling 911 to report a domestic disturbance at their Indianola home on Saturday (20 May).
He is recovering at home after suffering a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver.
At a heated rally outside the Indianola City Hall on Thursday, Ms Murry and her attorney Carlos Moore stood beside a small group of protesters calling for “justice”, WLBT reported.
The protesters held signs stating “Your ‘best’ cop shot my baby,” “Fire Greg Capers now,” and “Release bodycam footage”, according to WLBT.
The Indianola Police Department confirmed to CNN that the officer involved in the shooting was Greg Capers, who was previously named the department’s “best officer”.
Ms Murry and a group of eight family members met with Indianola town leaders for about 15 minutes.
Afterwards, Mr Moore told reporters that Mayor Ken Featherstone had shown the family “no sympathy”.
“We asked the mayor to say something to the family and offer some sort of comment on behalf of the city and if they’re sorry, let them know they’re sorry. The mayor would not say anything,” Mr Moore said, according to WLBT.
The family attorney said he planned to file a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Indianola, the police chief, and Officer Capers.
Mr Featherstone has not responded to several requests for comment by The Independent.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Bailey Martin said the agency was “currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence”, and would report its findings to the state Attorney General’s office upon completion of the probe.
The shooting unfolded in the early hours on Saturday (20 May) after Ms Murry asked Aderrien to call police when the father of one of her other children allegedly showed up at her home at 4am in an “irate” mood.
She told a news conference that she that an officer arrived at the house with his gun drawn, and called on everyone inside to come out.
Mr Murry said her son had just walked around a hallway corner and into the living room when he was shot.
Aderrien kept asking “Why did he shoot me? What did I do wrong?”, Ms Murry said during a press conference on Monday.
She applied pressure to the wounds until first responders arrived.
Aderrien was rushed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in a critical condition. He was released from hospital on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Ms Murry said her son was “doing well”.
“He’s blessed. I don’t know how else to describe it - how else to describe how he survived,” she told reporters, according to WLBT.
She said Aderrien kept asking why the officer shot him.
