Autopsy report released of 17-year-old allegedly killed, run over by Leland police officer

The office for civil rights attorney Ben Crump provided the Clarion Ledger with the autopsy results for 17-year-old Kadarius Smith who was allegedly run over by a Leland Police Department cruiser and later died in mid-March.

Attorney Crump represents Smith's family.

According to the report, Smith's death in the early morning hours of March 21 was caused by blunt-force trauma.

The forensic pathologist, Erin Barnhart, wrote in their findings that there were "blunt force injuries with massive blunt head trauma" at the time of Smith's autopsy.

The report cites some of following details as evidence of injury, including bleeding in the 17-year-old's brain:

• Abrasions and lacerations are on the left lateral forehead, left cheek and nose as well as the left temporal scalp. Abrasions are on the right lateral torso and hip, the posterior aspect of the left shoulder and on the lower back. Abrasions are also on the upper and lower left arm.
• A fracture extends through the central portion of the mandible, which is the lower jaw. The left femur is fractured.
• An obliquely oriented hinge fracture — a bone broken at an angle — extends through the bilateral middle cranial fossa , a region located in the base of a skull.
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage , which is bleeding in the space between the brain and the surrounding membrane, overlies the brain.

“These autopsy findings document the cruel and tragic way that Kadarius left us — with his head crushed under the immense weight of a police cruiser," Crump and co-counsel, Van Turner, wrote in a Wednesday statement. "This young boy had his whole life ahead of him, a life that his family will now mourn forever. The Leland police officers who were involved in Kadarius’s death need to be held accountable for their deadly actions. There is no circumstance where running over another human being with a car to the point of crushing their head is justifiable."

The autopsy findings provided by Crump and Turner come nearly four months after the police incident report was released by City Attorney Josh Bogen to the Clarion Ledger.

Smith's mother Kaychia Calvert claimed her son was run over from behind as tire tracks were visible of the 17-year-old's back, but the police report surrounding Smith's death offered a different narrative.

The police report suggested Smith's encounter with an unidentified officer involved a weapon.

The report stated police were dispatched to a home in response to “two suspects" outside of a residence on Davis Lane "with handguns.” When the officer arrived, the report said Smith “jumped from the porch” and “cuffed the right side of his pants” before he “took off running.”

The report stated the officer ran after Smith on foot before returning back to his cruiser. The report said as the officer continued searching for Smith, the teen “ran out in front of” the police unit on Huddleston Street, which is roughly on-foot 0.3 miles away from Davis Lane.

According to the report, the officer "could not stop the patrol unit immediately," which led to the officer hitting Smith with the patrol unit. The report does not state what part of Smith's body the officer struck.

More details on: Leland MS police report show details in the death of 17-year-old Kadarius Smith

Smith later died at a hospital.

During an April 16 press conference, Crump and the family of the deceased 17-year-old previously demanded for police to release camera footage of the teen's death. But Bogen, the city's attorney, told the Clarion Ledger shortly after the press conference was over that there was no footage of the incident .

Bogen said there is no dashcam footage, and the officer involved was not wearing a body cam.

The Clarion Ledger filed a public records request on April 22 seeking documents for the most recent copy of Leland Police Department's handbook or guidelines that includes the police department's policies on the use of body worn cameras and dashcams.

Bogen issued a statement on April 24 via email writing there are "no written policies" in the police handbook related to dash or body cams. Bogen also wrote he was advised that the Leland Police Department "did not have any 'policies' or 'procedures' in place" for dash or body cams in 2024 or in previous years.

"The Leland PD officers aren't required to wear body cams nor have our patrol cars been required to do so to my knowledge. However, the PD is in the process of acquiring the equipment to do so," Bogan said via email to the Clarion Ledger.

Bogen wrote in the email to the Clarion Ledger that he could not answer whether the police department is planning to adopt any written policies about body and dash cameras.

In response to the police report, Crump wrote in a May 1 statement how it is important to look "carefully at the facts in this case."

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“The police incident report states twice that officers were responding to claims that a juvenile, not specifically Kadarius, had a handgun," Crump said in the statement. "Nowhere in the police incident report does it state that a handgun was recovered from the scene. This child was run over by the police and lost his life — that is what we know for sure."

Crump also made reference to the dash and body cam footage the statement writing, “Kadarius’ death exemplifies the paramount importance of body cameras for every single officer on duty and dash cameras for every single police-issued vehicle patrolling our communities. In the year 2024, to not have body or dash camera technology in place is irresponsible and speaks to a widespread cultural problem in these departments."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Autopsy report released of 17-year-old allegedly killed, run over by Leland police officer