A Louisiana man had his hands up and posed no threat to the police who shot him and killed his six-year-old son last week, according to the man’s attorney, who cited a judge’s description of body camera footage.
The lawyer, Mark Jeansonne, spoke with the Associated Press after a closed hearing for two officers charged with second-degree murder of the boy, Jeremy Mardis, and second-degree attempted murder of the father, Chris Few.
Authorities have not released the footage, but the head of the Louisiana state police, Colonel Mike Edmonson, described it in a press conference as “the most disturbing thing I’ve seen”.
The officers, 32-year-old Derrick Stafford and 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr, remained jailed on Monday with a $1m bond. Few, according to his attorney, remained hospitalized and stable, but has not yet been told his son is dead.
Greenhouse is the son of Norris Greenhouse Sr, an assistant district attorney in Avoyelles Parish. The district attorney, Charles Riddle, told the AP that the state attorney general will take over prosecution of the case.
The possibility that the officers could post bond and be released Monday, despite the murder charges, didn’t sit well with some townspeople who gathered outside the jail.
“The same day the boy is being buried,” said Barbara Scott. “Shame, shame, shame.”
“This child couldn’t hurt a fly and his life is gone. I feel justice was not served,” added Latasha Murray.
Jeremy Mardis, who was autistic, was buried Monday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He had recently moved from Mississippi to Louisiana.
The boy’s death came in the midst of local infighting among various Marksville authorities with overlapping jurisdictions. Stafford, for instance, was a Marksville police officer who was moonlighting for the city marshal’s office, an agency that serves court papers in the area.
Marksville mayor John Lemoine told the Guardian that “apparently he worked a full shift for us that day, and then that night went to work for the marshal’s office”.
Lemoine questioned the legality of the marshal and his officers enforcing laws – and firing their weapons – in Marksville city limits.
Marysville city attorney Derrick Whittington told the Guardian that Stafford had faced multiple lawsuits in his role as a Marksville police officer, and that in neighboring Rapides Parish he had been indicted on rape charges that were later dropped.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
