A United States district court judge this week ruled that Indianola police Sgt. Greg Capers and Police Chief Ronald Sampson are entitled to qualified immunity in the May 20, 2023 officer-involved shooting of then 11-year-old Aderrien Murry.
The case against Capers, Sampson and the City of Indianola has effectively been dismissed, at least for now. United States District Court Judge Debra Brown is allowing “leave to amend” the complaint, which was filed by the child’s mother 10 days after the shooting.
Mike Carr, who represents Capers, who apparently shot Aderrien Murry that morning, told The Enterprise-Tocsin on Friday that he and his client are happy with the judge’s ruling, and he is anticipating an amended filing by the plaintiff.
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“We’re very pleased that Judge Jus accurately applied the law to the allegations in this complaint, resulting in dismissal,” Carr said. “If a new complaint is filed, we will continue to vigorously defend Sgt. Capers. Right now, he is relieved and continuing to serve the citizens of Indianola to the best of his ability.”
Judge Brown's ruling seems to focus on the fact that the plaintiff had failed to establish in the original complaint clear Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations against the defendants, which includes Capers, Sampson and the City of Indianola.
“Because Murry does not allege that Capers intentionally shot A.M., she fails to sufficiently state claims for Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment violations based on excessive force, and Capers and Sampson are entitled to qualified immunity,” the ruling states in part. “The motion for judgment on the pleadings will be granted as to the claims against Capers and Sampson in their individual capacity.”
Family attorney Carlos Moore told The E-T that he plans to amend the complaint soon.
“I respect the ruling and will timely seek leave of court to amend the complaint to cure any deficiencies in the federal lawsuit,” Moore said. “The separate state court lawsuit is still ongoing for the state law claims.”
The child Murry was shot in the chest area shortly after 4 a.m. that spring morning following a 911 call about a domestic violence issue at the Murry home on B.B. King Road.
After Capers failed to gain access to the home by kicking the door in, the child’s mother, Nakala Murry, opened the door and exited the residence with her hands in the air.
Capers stood in the threshold of the door, according to since-released body camera footage and ordered the suspect, later identified as John Nolden, out of the home.
That is when Aderrien Murry ran from around a corner, according to the video, and Capers pulled the trigger of his gun, striking the child.
Aderrien Murry was rushed to a Jackson hospital and was released later that week.
Capers was suspended without pay by the City of Indianola in June of 2023. He was reinstated to the force shortly after a grand jury cleared him of any criminal misconduct.
As for the state law claims, Judge Brown ruled that those accusations are procedurally barred since the plaintiff did not provide 90 days written notice to the government entity defendant as prescribed by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act.
“The motion for judgment on the pleadings will be granted as to all claims because Murry did not sufficiently state a violation of their constitutional rights to maintain their federal law claims, and because their state law claims are procedurally barred for failure to provide notice as required under the MTCA,” the ruling says.
Read the judge's full ruling below. Also, below is a video interview with Sgt. Greg Capers from May. The E-T extended an offer back in May to Nakala Murry for the same interview format, and she declined.
