Side-by-side bodycam footage shows the moment a Black 11-year-old boy was shot in the chest by police despite holding his hands up.
Aderrien Murry was woken up around 4 a.m. on May 20 by the threatening behavior of his mother's ex-boyfriend and asked him to call the police.
When officers arrived moments later, Aderrien said he was asked to leave his room and when he did, he was shot.
He was hospitalized for five days with a collapsed lung, a lacerated liver and broken ribs from the gunshot wound to the chest.
Footage released after the city tried for months to block their release shows police officer Greg Capers arriving at the door of a home in Indianola, Mississippi.
Aderrien Murry, 11, was shot in the chest by police last May at his home in Indianola, Mississippi, even though he had his arms raised
Mississippi police officer Greg Capers was suspended without pay after the shooting but was reinstated when a grand jury declined to indict him
With his gun drawn, he knocked on the door several times and asked everyone present to come out.
Aderrien's mother, Nakala Murry, was the first out the door and walked out with her hands raised.
Capers asked her where her ex-boyfriend was, and she claims she told him the man was missing and there were three children in the house.
However, this was not captured on video and her response to the officer's question was unintelligible in the footage.
Capers shouted, “Come out, sir, don't force us in!” and seemed to think the suspect was still inside and soon walked out the door.
Seconds later, Aderrien came out of a hallway with his hands up and was shot dead by Capers as soon as he came into view.
Capers screamed “Oh my God” and called for medical help while begging Aderrien to stop moving after he stood up and ran past him out the door.
Aderrien survived, but suffered serious injuries and had to undergo costly medical treatment.
He said the shot felt like he had been hit by a Taser or hit hard in the chest.
Aderrien's mother, Nakala Murry, was the first out the door and walked out with her hands raised
Capers went into the house with his gun drawn and seconds later shot Aderrien as he emerged from the hallway with his hands raised
Aderrien's attorney, Carlos Moore, said releasing the body camera footage is important for transparency in the case.
“The city of Indianola fought hard to prevent the release of the body camera footage of Officer Greg Capers shooting my unarmed client,” he said.
“I guess they forgot that the MBI investigation was complete and the media could get it.”
A Sunflower County grand jury declined to indict Capers last month, finding he had no criminal intent and had no case to make.
The Mississippi Attorney General's Office said no further state criminal action would be taken against Capers.
The Murrys filed a civil lawsuit in May against Capers, the city of Indianola and its police chief, seeking $5 million in damages for Capers' alleged “reckless disregard” for the family's rights and safety.
“As the grand jury spoke, we firmly believe that there are unanswered questions and that the shooting of Aderrien Murry was unjustified,” Moore said at the time.
“We are committed to seeking justice for Aderrien and his family.”
Aderrien said the bullet “felt like a Taser, like a heavy blow to the chest” and believed he was dying
Aderrien was hospitalized for five days with a collapsed lung, a lacerated liver and broken ribs from the gunshot wound to the chest
Capers' attorney said the release of the video was unexpected and they would not comment due to pending litigation.
The police officer who was named Indianola's top officer in 2021 was placed on unpaid administrative leave in June and was not reinstated until after the grand jury's decision.
Aderrien described last year how he thought he was going to die after being shot and kept himself alive through prayer and singing.
“I got out of it,” he said with his arms raised during an interview with ABC News. “It felt like a Taser, like a hard blow to the chest.”
“I was bleeding, bleeding from my mouth. Then I would just remember singing a song.'
Nakala Murry said she gave her son the phone and asked him to call his grandmother after she said they woke up to hear a knock on the window and see her ex-boyfriend standing outside.
“I noticed he was kind of angry. And from dealing with him in the past, I know the angry version of him and what that could lead to,” she told Good Morning America.
Aderrien called 911 and his grandmother, who in turn also called 911.
Aderrien Murry was woken up by his mother's ex-boyfriend's threatening behavior outside the house at around 4am on May 20 (pictured) and was asked to call the police
Aderrien's attorney Carlos Moore (right) said releasing the bodycam footage is important for transparency in the case
Nakala claimed that when Capers arrived, he “pulled his gun at the front door and asked the occupants of the house to come outside.”
“At one point he was trying to come out with his hands up, that's when my son came out,” she said.
She said she placed her hand on her son's wound to apply pressure while he “sang gospel songs and prayed as he bled to death.”
“He said, 'I don't want to die,' that's what he said,” his mother said. “I said, 'You're not going to die, baby, you're not going to die, just keep talking.'”
Nakala said Capers also tried to help by placing his hand on hers to stop Aderrien's bleeding.