Four fatal shootings by Mississippi law officers deemed justified by attorney general

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued a Wednesday statement saying the use of force was justified in four fatal shootings involving Mississippi law enforcement officers last year.

Fitch said she based her findings on investigations conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

Here are details about each shooting:

• The first shooting happened May 16, 2023. According to WTOK-TV in Meridian, a man entered the lobby of Meridian Living, an assisted care facility, and threatened employees with a pistol before officers were called. Police told the news station officers shot the man after encountering him with a weapon. No officers were injured. The shooting involved four Meridian Police Department officers, the attorney general office said.
• The second shooting happened June 3, 2023. WTVA reported a Union County Sheriff’s Department deputy responded to a call about a domestic disturbance in Myrtle and killed a man who had pointed a gun at the deputy. The man was later identified by police as 51-year-old Robert Dillard. WTVA said the deputy shot the man, who then barricaded himself inside the home and later died.

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• The third shooting happened July 13, 2023. The Sun Herald reported Harrison County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call about a burglary in Saucier, north of Gulfport. A sergeant killed a man, later identified as 38-year-old Jeremiah Ladner, who pointed a weapon at deputies.
• The fourth shooting happened July 16, 2023. The Natchez Democrat reported two Adams County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call about a woman who said she had been kidnapped and assaulted by her boyfriend. Sheriff Travis Patten said the boyfriend shot at the woman, hitting her in the stomach, and at an officer, who then killed the man. The news outlet reported the boyfriend's identity as Charoyd Henrence Bell, 43.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Four fatal shootings by Mississippi law officers deemed justified by attorney general