Mississippi attorney general’s office says four police shootings justified
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office announced Monday that four officer-involved shootings were justified under state law. The incidents resulted in one person killed, a police dog injured, and three others wounded.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation handles investigations into fatal and nonfatal officer-involved shootings. Its findings are shared with Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office, which presents the cases to a grand jury. The grand jury then decides whether to issue criminal charges. If indicted, the attorney general’s office prosecutes the case, according to state law.
This is not the first time Fitch’s office has cleared officers in shooting cases. An analysis by Mississippi Today found that the office declined to prosecute and cleared law enforcement in about one-third of cases resolved between 2023 and 2024. A grand jury has not always issued indictments in cases presented by Fitch’s office. One recent indictment involved a Laurel police officer accused of shooting a minor in 2023.
The attorney general’s office is also prosecuting former Capitol Police officers Michael Rhinewalt and Jeffery Walker, who face charges of aggravated assault related to a 2022 traffic stop shooting. Fitch’s office initially handled another Capitol Police shooting involving Rhinewalt and Stephen Frederick. They were indicted for the 2022 manslaughter death of Jaylen Lewis after a traffic stop. Hinds County Circuit Judge Adrienne Wooten ordered a special prosecutor for the case, citing a conflict of interest because the attorney general’s office was defending Rhinewalt in a related federal civil lawsuit.
Recent cases reviewed by the attorney general’s office include a shooting in Ridgeland on Dec. 31, 2024, where a 16-year-old was injured after police say he drove toward an officer during a surveillance operation. In Jackson on Oct. 15, 2024, officers responded to shots fired on I-220. They shot Anthony Johnson after he pointed a weapon and ran from officers. Johnson was charged with multiple offenses a week later.
Another case involved the shooting death of Jamarcus Brown in Lake Cormorant on Feb. 21, 2024. Deputies pursued Brown, and a police dog was wounded and later died after being shot by Brown. The deputies fired at Brown, killing him. The case in Jackson on July 9, 2022, involved a police officer shooting at a suspect on Old Canton Road, but details about that incident remain limited.
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