City deputies indicted in fatal shooting of 6-year-old in Louisiana city
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Version 0 of 1. A grand jury in Louisiana indicted two Marksville city deputy marshals Thursday in a shooting last month that killed a 6-year-old autistic boy and critically wounded his father. Meanwhile, another police officer, who arrived on the scene and witnessed the shooting, told authorities that he didn’t open fire because he “didn’t fear for his life,” according to a report by Louisiana State Police. The state police report was released by Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell shortly after charges were filed against the two marshals, Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford. According to Associated Press and local media, the police report includes a statement from a witness, Marksville Police Sgt. Kenneth Parnell III, as well as description of a video shot from a body camera Parnell was wearing. “The body camera video is approximately 13 minutes and 47 seconds long. At approximately 26 seconds into the video, the driver, Christopher Few’s empty hands are raised and visible when gunfire becomes audible,” the report said, according to the Associated Press. The deputies were arrested in Marksville last month, but not formally charged until Thursday. They were charged with second-degree murder in the boy’s death and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting and critical wounding of his father, Attorney General Caldwell said in a statement . On Nov. 3, the boy, Jeremy Mardis, became the youngest person shot and killed by law officers this year, according to a Washington Post database tracking such shootings. Amid a national debate over the use of deadly force by police, the shooting of Jeremy — a first-grader strapped into an SUV’s front seat beside his father — sent shock waves nationwide. In the weeks that followed, Louisiana State Police investigated why the two deputies were chasing the SUV driven by Jeremy’s father, Chris Few. Few was not armed and was not the subject of any arrest warrant. When the chase ended, the two deputies — Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23 — fired at least 18 bullets into Few’s SUV, police said. Five shots hit Jeremy. Another officer arrived during the shooting wearing a body camera. Upon their arrest last month, Col. Mike Edmonson of the state police called the footage “one of the most disturbing videos I’ve ever seen.” “It troubled me as a police officer and as a father. There’s no reason that boy deserved to die like that,” Edmonson said. Few’s attorney told reporters that the video shows the father with his hands in the air as the deputies open fire. The judge overseeing the case quickly issued a gag order, prohibiting witnesses from talking to reporters and barring the video’s release. After Thursday’s indictment, the judge vacated that gag order, according to local newspaper The Advocate, but the video still hasn’t been released. The case also prompted troubling questions: Why were two deputy marshals — whose main job is serving court papers for the city judge — chasing an SUV and shooting at the driver? How did Stafford — who had been charged twice with aggravated rape and has racked up a string of lawsuits accusing him of using excessive force — get hired as a deputy. The shooting also pushed into the spotlight a long-running feud between Marksville’s mayor and the city judge. That feud appears to be the reason the city marshal’s office began hiring deputies like Stafford and Greenhouse even though Marksville has a full-fledged police force patrolling its streets. Outside the courthouse Thursday, Jeremy’s grandmother called for the release of the video of the shooting. “It’s been pure hell. I can’t explain what it’s like to bury your 6-year-old grandchild,” Cathy Mardis, 46, of Hattiesburg, Miss., told the Associated Press. She added: “I want justice for Jeremy. I want justice for Chris.” |