Miss. Woman Who Was Allegedly Shot in the Head by Officers During Car Chase Sues Police Department
Sherita Harris said in the lawsuit that she "suffers severe complications" after the alleged incident
She is seeking £3 million in damages. In the complaint, Harris claims that she had been a passenger in a car heading north on Highway 51 in downtown Jackson, when the car was stopped at an intersection by officers while waiting for the light to turn green on Aug.
14, 2022. Harris claims the officers activated their emergency lights and commanded the driver to pull to the side of the road, which the driver complied with.
However, she said in the complaint, that Officer Rhinewalt began shooting at the car, prompting the driver to drive away to "escape the constant firing of bullets." [embedded content] Related: Family Will Sue After Black Woman Who Called 911 to Report Domestic Disturbance Was Killed by Police[2]
When the driver looked over at Harris, he found her slumped over in her seat with a bullet wound to the head, according to the complaint. She was later taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery to "remove bullet fragments from her head." The complaint said she stayed there for approximately three to four days for recovery. "Because of Defendants Rhinewalt's and Walker's excessive force demonstrated by the shot to the head and unlawful or unauthorized vehicle chase, Plaintiff Harris suffers severe complications with her speech, gait and overall cognizant abilities," the complaint states.
The legal filing also accuses the officers of assault, battery and gross negligence for the incident, and for inflicting emotional distress to Harris. It also alleges that the MDPS "failed" in training and supervising the two officers on duty. Story continues
In a statement to local news station WAPT[3], the MDPS said it would "not comment on matters regarding pending litigation." The organization, as well as the Mississippi Capitol Police Department, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Related: 2 Wisc.
Boys, 10, Killed in High-Speed Police Chase Crash as Father Flees Traffic Stop[4] According to NBC News[5], Officer Walker testified in a September 2022 hearing that he and Officer Rhinewalt attempted to pull over the car after it failed to stop at a red light. He added that the vehicle sped away when he got out and tried to approach it.
"My partner yelled at me that we were getting shot at. At that time the back window of the fleeing vehicle started shattering, and that's when I first noticed the gunshots," Walker said, per the outlet. He added that Rhinewalt "returned fire, and I backed off of the vehicle to keep a safe distance and us from getting injured."
The officers were not wearing body cameras during the incident and did not have a dashboard camera equipped in the vehicle to capture footage at the time, Miss. Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell told NBC News. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?
Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter[6] for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. "I'm used to being an independent woman. So it takes a lot out of me to not be able to do anything," Harris told the outlet, adding that the shooting has "handicapped me for the rest of my life."
"I'm never going to be me again," the mom of five added. "I love me. But I'm never going to be that me and be able to get up and go. They'll never be able to give me what I need.
They'll never be able to compensate me because they took my life with those shots." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter![7] Read the original article on People[8].
References
- ^ complaint (www.documentcloud.org)
- ^ Family Will Sue After Black Woman Who Called 911 to Report Domestic Disturbance Was Killed by Police (people.com)
- ^ WAPT (www.wapt.com)
- ^ 2 Wisc.
Boys, 10, Killed in High-Speed Police Chase Crash as Father Flees Traffic Stop
(people.com) - ^ NBC News (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter (forms.dotdashmeredith.com)
- ^ sign up for our newsletter! (forms.dotdashmeredith.com)
- ^ People (people.com)