Nakala Murry has filed a second civil lawsuit against the City of Indianola and several others related to the May 20, 2023 officer-involved shooting of her son, then 11-year-old Aderrien Murry.
The suit was filed by her attorney, Carlos Moore, on the anniversary of the shooting this week.
Not surprisingly, Officer Greg Capers, who allegedly shot the child in his home that morning, along with Indianola Police Chief Ronald Sampson, are named in the suit that like the federal action filed nearly a year ago asks for $5 million.
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In the new suit, however, the plaintiff names IPD dispatcher Jada Rush.
At around 4 a.m. on the morning of the shooting, officers were dispatched to the plaintiff’s B.B. King Road residence regarding a domestic quarrel involving Nakala Murry and the father of one of her minor children who had previously been identified as John Nolden.
Nakala Murry has maintained that as the “irate” man became more enraged, she gave the phone to Aderrien Murry and told him to call her mother and the police.
The child apparently did as he was told, because dispatch tapes released this past winter reveal calls that appear to have come from Aderrien Murry and the grandmother.
When officers arrived, Sgt. Greg Capers knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He asked dispatch to see if they could get permission from the 911 caller to kick in the door.
It appears that permission was given by Aderrien Murry.
Also released in January was an about two-minute clip from Capers’ body camera.
When he attempted to kick in the door, Nakala Murry opened the door, and she was instructed to leave the residence. When asked where the man was, she motioned her head back into the home.
It appears from the incomplete dispatch recordings and Capers’ interaction with Nakala Murry, he was never informed there were children in the home.
There were apparently three minors in the home that morning, two of Nakala Murry’s children and her nephew.
Capers entered the home through the front door, just barely into the living room area, according to the body camera footage.
He ordered the man to come out with his hands up.
That is when Aderrien Murry ran around the corner, and in a matter of seconds, he was shot in the chest area.
He was later taken to a Jackson hospital, and he was released the following week.
Nakala Murry has stated several times that her son still has bullet fragments in his body.
Capers was placed on paid leave during the following meeting of the board of aldermen, and that was later changed to leave without pay in June 2023.
That status remained the same until a grand jury in December 2023 ruled out criminal charges for the officer.
Later that month, the board reinstated Capers, and he is back on duty.
As for the new lawsuit, there are a lot of similarities to the initial federal suit that was filed days after the incident last year.
The federal lawsuit is still pending and has seen little activity since February. Attorney Moore told The Enterprise-Tocsin the two lawsuits will proceed concurrently.
In the second cause of action, the plaintiff claims a “State Law Claim of Negligence as to Defendant Jada Rush.”
“Defendant Jada Rush owed a duty to Plaintiffs to protect them and provide the services of public law enforcement. Defendant Rush knew or should have known that a dispatcher's job duties are to be vigilant and to handle various situations effectively. Because of her failure to handle the situation that was presented to her, Plaintiffs suffered (injury).”
Also listed as Cause of Action were: Negligent/Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress/ Bystanders' Liability, Negligent, Grossly Negligent, and Wanton Failure in Hiring and to Monitor, Train, Supervise, and Discipline or take necessary Corrective Action on the Officer Involved, Reckless Endangerment, Civil Assault and Battery, Reckless Disregard for the Right and Safety of the Plaintiffs, Respondent Superior and The Common Law Tort of Outrage.
“Plaintiffs respectfully pray for judgment against all Defendants, compensatory damages, punitive damages, any and all damages allowed by Mississippi Law, pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, attorney's fees, Veasley type damages, and all costs of this proceeding with such final amount being at least $5,000,000.00 or an aggregate sum equal to the maximum amount of recovery allowed by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act plus any recovery to be determined by a jury and allowed under any applicable state law and state guidelines,” the complaint concluded.
Both the federal and state complaints can be read as attachments to this story.
