Mississippi attorney general won't seek a new trial for officer in fatal shooting of Black motorist

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's attorney general said she will not retry a police officer after jurors failed to reach a verdict on a manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal shooting of a Black motorist.

Jurors on Monday deadlocked on the charge against Mississippi Capitol Police officer Michael Rhinewalt and acquitted a second Capitol police officer, Steven Frederick, who was also charged with manslaughter in the September 2022 shooting of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis.

The case has raised questions about policing in the majority-Black city of Jackson and prompted a lawsuit from Lewis' mom. The two officers who shot Lewis are both white.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office, which prosecuted the two officers, said in a statement that it “followed the process” and will not pursue a new trial against Rhinewalt.

“In the case of a tie, the benefit of the doubt goes to our law enforcement officers,” the statement said, adding that the “men and women who wear the uniform have earned that.”

The two officers testified that they opened fire on Lewis in self-defense after he rammed a police vehicle and drove toward them.

“Both of them were in fear for their life and each other’s safety,” Merrida Coxwell, an attorney for Frederick, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. “It was horrible and it was tragic. All he had to do was stop.”

Prosecutors said Lewis and his passenger did not know they were being stopped by police. The officers were driving unmarked cars and were in plain clothes with vests.

Rhinewalt is also charged with aggravated assault in another police shooting in 2022. Sherita Harris says she was shot in the head by Rhinewalt during a pursuit after a traffic stop.

Rhinewalt and another Capitol Police officer charged in that case say Harris fled after they exited their patrol vehicle, and they heard gunshots from the car as they gave chase. Both officers have pleaded not guilty.

Rhinewalt’s lawyers did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails from the AP.