3 former police officers indicted for homicide in death of Keith Murriel

By Ross Adams & Troy Johnson

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    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — Body cam video released by the city of Jackson shows former police officers repeatedly using a stun gun on a man who later died.

Former officers Avery Willis, Kenya McCarty and James Land were indicted by a grand jury, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens said during a news conference Wednesday with the Jackson mayor and police chief. According to court documents, McCarty is charged with second-degree murder and Land is charged with manslaughter. The indictment for Willis has not yet been released.

Keith Murriel died after he was taken into custody on New Year’s Eve near the extended stay hotel on Beasley Road.

The indictment accuses McCarty of “jolting Keith Murriel with electricity, multiple times, with a police-issued tazer and placing Keith Murriel in a patrol car in an unsafe manner, all acts, whether occurring individually and/or cumulatively, that were eminently dangerous to Keith Murriel and evincing a depraved heard, regardless of human life.”

Land is accused in the indictment of “acting in concert and/or aiding, assisting or encouraging” McCarty and Willis to use a stun gun on Murriel multiple times.

“We do not think the actions of a few represent the bravery of so many,” Owens said.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the video released to the media Wednesday includes body cam video from the officers and video from the surrounding area.

“I want to speak to the fact that we believe that the video that displays the actions of these officers is required to not only be released to the family, which it has been at this point, and to be released to the community,” Lumumba said. “We believe that what we saw on this video is excessive, disheartening and tragic. We believe it is not representative of what this administration wants to put forward or what the men and women of the Jackson Police Department want to put forward.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation handled the investigation, which the mayor said is now complete. Lumumba said he wrote MBI earlier this year and asked investigators to release the video.

“We chose not to release the video at that time because we didn’t want to compromise the investigation at that time,” Lumumba said.

Video that has been released by the family’s attorney appears to show officers using stun guns. The body cam video released by the city labeled “Land” shows officers using a stun gun several times on Murriel, who can be heard pleading with the officers to stop. The officers are heard repeatedly telling Murriel to put his other hand behind his back or they’ll use the stun gun on him again.

The city released more than four hours of video on Wednesday, which 16 WAPT News is reviewing. The video below is the first 3 minutes and 43 seconds of Land’s body cam video.

Chief Joseph Wade said the Jackson Police Department strives to create community trust, and he asked that residents continue to support officers.

“We at JPD will continue to be transparent and will continue to have accountability in place, not only from the bottom up, but from the top down as we move forward,” Wade said.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Land was released from jail after posting a $75,000 bond. McCarty bonded out on $150,000. Jones said that as of Wednesday evening, Land had not been arrested.

Murriel’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers involved.

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