A Mississippi county prosecutor filed a petition that could jeopardize the custody rights of one woman whose young son was shot in the chest by a cop after he called 911 for help during a domestic disturbance.
Nakala Murry faces accusations of neglect almost a year after her son, Aderrien Murry, was shot by Officer Greg Capers in Indianola, Mississippi. Murry, who was 11 at the time, called 911 at the direction of his mother after her ex-boyfriend showed up at the home in an “irate” state around 4 a.m. on May 20, 2023.
When Capers arrived, he approached the front door of the home with his gun drawn and loudly called for everyone to leave the house. Murry abruptly came around the corner of a hallway into Capers’ view and Capers fired his gun and shot him in the chest.
Sunflower County Prosecuting Attorney Gwendolyn Jimison filed court documents alleging that Nakala Murry neglected her three children and cited the police shooting as one rationale for the claim, according to the Mississippi Free Press. Those filings specify that an anonymous witness frequently saw Murry’s ex-boyfriend, John Nolden, assault Murry in front of her children and claimed that Aderrien was shot as a “result of the mother and boyfriend domestic violence that have been happening for years (sic).”
Aderrien suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, and a lacerated liver after he was shot. He had to be placed on a ventilator during his treatment, but ultimately survived his injuries.
A grand jury decided not to criminally indict Capers for the shooting. He was suspended from the Indianola police force for a time but was reinstated to his position last December following the grand jury decision.
The Murry family has filed a $5 million federal lawsuit alleging that Capers used excessive and negligent force during the shooting. Their complaint also mentions other instances in which Capers has used force abusively and excessively and yet, he’s been let off from his superiors regularly despite the behavior.
“To have to even think of losing her kids at this point over something that is not her fault is just unbelievable. It’s outlandish,” Nakala Murry’s attorney Carlos Moore told the Mississippi Free Press. “The problem is the ex-boyfriend’s not the one who shot the boy; it’s the cop.”
Nolden is the father of one of Aderrien’s older siblings. He and Nakala Murry must report to the Sunflower County Youth Court on April 17 to answer Jimison’s petition and defend their custody rights.
Indianola is a city in the Mississippi Delta located more than 100 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi.
