Two Mississippi Capitol Police officers have been indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with the 2022 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis.
Stephen Frederick Jr., a former Mississippi Capitol Police officer, and Michael Rhinewalt, an officer who is on unpaid administrative leave, were indicted by a grand jury in Hinds County last month.
The men opened fire on Lewis while conducting a traffic stop on September 25, 2022. Details of the encounter are murky as the incident report contained redactions, but Lewis’s death certificate determined he was shot in the head.
Though Frederick and Rhinewalt said they responded with gunfire in self-defense, the grand jury concluded it was “not a reasonable belief under the circumstances,” according to a copy of the indictment obtained by NBC News.
Lewis was the father of a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old.
The Independent has asked the Hinds County District Attorney for a copy of the indictment.
The Capitol Police are a unit of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Their primary responsibility is to protect life and property in the boundaries of the Capitol Complex. However, in 2022, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves deployed a new task force to combat crime in the state’s capital.
Rhinewalt, Frederick and other members of the Capitol Police unit were conducting a drug narcotics operation the night of the shooting. The officers saw a white Jeep Grand Cherokee run a red light and opened fire after they tried to pull the vehicle over, according to NBC News.
Lewis’s mother, Arkela Lewis, has previously said her son was followed by a white officer in an unmarked car when one of the officers shot him in the head during the traffic stop.
Upon hearing the news of the indictment, Arkela Lewis said, “I could jump for joy,” according to Mississippi Today.
Rhinewalt was previously indicted in January, alongside former officer Jeffrey Walker, on two counts of aggravated assault. The two are accused of using excessive force on a woman while conducting a traffic stop in 2022. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
