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Home • News

Bodycam Footage Shows Cops Laughing While Black Man Died In Their Custody After They Tased Him At Least 26 Times

Former cops in Jackson, MS tased Keith Murriel repeatedly and misled a paramedic about his death.
Bodycam Footage Shows Cops Laughing While Black Man Died In Their Custody After They Tased Him At Least 26 Times
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – MARCH 15: The Capitol Police Force patrols the streets of downtown Jackson, March 15, 2023 in Jackson, Mississippi. The state legislature signed a law making the downtown area under the jurisdiction of a different police force than the city itself, inflaming racial tensions in the African American run city. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
By Malaika Jabali · Updated May 26, 2023

The City of Jackson released footage of three officers on Wednesday showing them tasing a Black man repeatedly who ultimately died in their custody.

In body camera footage shared with the Clarion Ledger, three former officers reportedly tased Keith Murriel, 41, at least 26 separate times in a 10-minute span on December 31.

According to the outlet, a hotel security guard call the police, reporting that he was loitering in the parking lot.

Then-officers Kenya McCarty, Avery Willis, and James Land arrived on the scene and tased Murriel repeatedly while he yelled “unintelligible screams.”

The Clarion Ledger reports that the officers were laughing and joking presumably while Murriel was losing consciousness and that “no one in law enforcement, including the sergeant, was shown on video checking on Murriel’s condition during this span.”

When a paramedic arrived, none of the officers mentioned the tasing, instead claiming that Murriel choked.

McCarty and Willis have since been charged with second degree murder, while land was charged last week with manslaughter.

“We are on the side of justice and want to see justice take place,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said.

TOPICS:  Police Brutality