Two Louisiana City Marshals Charged With Second-Degree Murder of Six-Year-Old Jeremy Mardis (Updated)
Two of the officers involved in the unexplained shooting that killed six-year-old Jeremy Mardis in Marksville, Louisiana have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, according to multiple reports.
The officers are 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr., a reserve officer, and 32-year-old Lt. Derrick Stafford. Colonel Mike Edmonson called the body camera footage of the incident, which has not been described in detail or released, “the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, and I will leave it at that.”
Added to the list of statements walked back from the original explanation is this: Edmonson said he was aware of no warrant being served to Few by the marshals, according to a report by The Guardian. Chris Few, Mardis’s father and the driver of the car, was reportedly not being served a warrant, he was apparently not backing his car into police, and he was definitely not armed. At least 18 shots were fired into the driver side of his car.
Few’s 57-year-old stepfather, Morris German, has accused the marshals of indiscriminately opening fire on the vehicle. German said Few was heavily sedated in hospital, unable to talk and had bullet fragments lodged in his brain and lung. He described Few as a loving father and added the man’s son “was his whole life”.
Colonel Edmonson has not ruled out additional arrests in the case. The other two officers involved in the incident are reported as Lt. Jason Brouillette and Sgt. Kenneth Purnell, according to a Daily Mail report.
The investigation is ongoing, and few details of what took place are being released. It’s noteworthy, though, and in a grimly encouraging way, that this has so far been a serious, decisive police investigation of the bad behavior of other police.
UPDATE: Here’s video of Colonel Mike Edmonson’s announcement of the charges:
