#Mom of Aderrien Murray, Mississippi 11-year-old shot by police, sues

The family of an 11-year-old boy in Indianola, Mississippi, who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help is suing the city, the police chief and the officer accused of the shooting.

The officials were accused of negligence and the use of excessive force in the lawsuit filed Tuesday by 11-year-old Aderrien Murry’s mother, Nakala Murry.

Aderrien called 911 in the early hours of May 20 after his mother told him to because she was afraid for her safety and that of the children in the house. She had received “an unexpected visit from an irate father of one of her minor children,” according to the lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY.

Officer Greg Capers responded and instructed everyone to come outside the house, according to the lawsuit. As Aderrien “was coming around the corner of the hallway that led into the living room area, he was instantly shot by Defendant Officer Capers,” the lawsuit says.

The suit accuses Capers of failing to assess the situation to respond appropriately before firing his weapon and seeks at least $5 million in damages.

Mississippi Department of Public Safety press secretary Bailey Martin told USA TODAY last week that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is “assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence.”

Previously: 11-year-old Mississippi boy who called 911 shot by responding officer: ‘Why did he shoot me?’

‘I actually thought I was about to lose my life’

Aderrien has been released from the hospital after suffering a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and fractured ribs. It felt “like a big punch to the chest,” the boy told “Good Morning America” in an interview that aired Tuesday.

Aderrien said he came out of his bedroom with his hands up to follow the orders from the officers when he was shot. He said he then ran to his mother and was bleeding from his mouth. Nakala Murry said she applied pressure to the wound and prayed, hoping her son wouldn’t lose consciousness.

“I actually thought I was about to lose my life,” Aderrien said in the interview.

The lawsuit says Aderrien’s injuries will require “extensive time” to heal.

Family wants to see officer fired

Nakala Murry and her son said they want to see the officer who shot Aderrien fired. Capers has been suspended, the Murry family’s attorney, Carlos Moore, told The Associated Press last week.

“I want you to come forward about what you did to me that night and I want you to be terminated,” Aderrien told “Good Morning America” when asked if he had a message for the officer.

Moore said the shooting was the clearest case of excessive force he has ever seen. Aderrien and the officer who shot him are Black.

“With living in the South, Mississippi, especially, sometimes you feel that you can trust the police a little more when they (are) your own color, your own race,” Moore said on “Good Morning America.” “But now this man, this young boy, would never trust law enforcement again.”

Nakala Murry said police use of excessive force must end: “I don’t care what color the cop is, what color the victim is. It has to stop.”

The Indianola Police Department said it would not comment on the lawsuit. Indianola’s mayor and a representative for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Aderrien told “Good Morning America” that he had wanted to be a police officer before he was shot. “I do want to be a doctor now,” he said.