The families of four men who died or allegedly were beaten in encounters with Mississippi law enforcement gathered outside the state attorney general’s office Thursday to urge officials to stop denying them access to video capturing the incidents, years after they happened.

The families said officials have blocked them for up to three years from viewing video footage and other key police records that could shed light on what happened, leaving them with unanswered questions. Those cases are:

• Dexter Wade, 37, who was struck and killed by an off-duty officer driving a Jackson Police Department SUV in March 2023. His death garnered national attention. The department buried the father of two in an unmarked grave and did not notify his family until five months after he was killed.
• Jason Simmons, an armed 40-year-old from Saucier who was shot and killed in June by deputies with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department after they arrived to pick him up for a court-ordered mental health evaluation, according to police. Simmons’ family said he struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues.
• Jayden Bridges, 22, of Pinola, who died in a car chase with a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper in Copiah County last year after police suspected he was the subject of reports of drag racing in the area, according to the sheriff’s office.
• Raju Brandon Neapollioun, a Hattiesburg man who is now disabled from traumatic brain injuries after Deputy Sheriff Kelby Lewis allegedly beat him while he was an inmate at the Forrest County Adult Detention Center in 2023, according to a dismissed civil suit that Neapollioun filed against Lewis and the sheriff’s office.

As members of the public, the families have the right to request access to the information under state law, which broadly allows public records to be “available for inspection by any person,” with limited exceptions. But Bobby DiCello, the families’ civil-rights attorney, said state and local officials have continuously denied their requests, citing ongoing investigations into the incidents.

“If the video shows things that are bad, things that are inhuman, things that are wrong, things that are wicked, let it into the light,” DiCello said. “Let it be known.”

Like many states, Mississippi allows law enforcement to reject requests for information that may “harm” an investigation into illegal or potentially illegal activity, including officer misconduct. Unlike a handful of jurisdictions, such as Minnesota, Mississippi does not make exceptions for video of the incident, including for the victim’s relatives.

“Too often, incidents like these are hidden behind closed doors. Families like us, standing here today, are left searching for answers,” said Latarran Young-Neapollioun, Raju Neapollioun’s wife. “Seeing these many families here today only further verifies that Mississippi is still burning.”

Many questions, few answers

Before deputies shot and killed Simmons at his parents’ home, his cousin Niecee Rogers said the family always saw themselves as “pro law enforcement.” That all changed one evening last June, when his mother, Cynthia Simmons, called the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department for help while her armed son struggled during a mental-health episode.

“Her call for the sheriff’s office should not have been the death sentence for Jason,” Rogers said.

When deputies arrived, Simmons’ parents said their son believed the officers were trying to kill him. The sheriff’s office said Simmons opened fire and barricaded himself in a shed on the property, resulting in a four-hour standoff with the SWAT team.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said around 10 p.m., Simmons displayed a firearm, sparking an exchange of gunfire between him and the officers that left him dead. Cynthia Simmons said her son was shot eight times: Six bullets went into his back, and two into his arms.

Eleven months later, his family said they still haven’t been able to access video of the incident showing why deputies shot and killed Simmons. The quest for transparency brought them from Harrison County to Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office in downtown Jackson Thursday, where they called for the sheriff and attorney general to release footage of the shooting.

DiCello said the four families’ intentions weren’t to sue law enforcement, but to seek closure by fully understanding what happened to their loved ones through the information that police have. 

Over the last year, Jayden Bridges’ family has sought access to police dashboard camera footage in the hopes of getting answers to the questions that have lingered in his death in a car chase with a state trooper, beyond officers’ accounts.

The Copiah County Sheriff’s Department said his death occurred after state troopers noticed Bridges, driving a black Dodge Charger, and another car preparing to start a race after receiving reports of drag racing in the area.

According to police, a trooper pursued Bridges with his lights and siren while Bridges drove off at a high speed. Bridges and the trooper then lost control of their vehicles, and Bridges’ car hit a tree. He was later pronounced dead while the trooper had injuries that were not life-threatening.

Bridges’ relative, Junkevious Mack, denied officers’ allegations that Bridges was planning to race his car and that he crashed simply after losing control of his vehicle. Instead, Mack said the trooper maneuvered his vehicle to stop Bridges, causing the Charger to veer off the road into a tree.

Bridges’ family has unsuccessfully requested access to footage from the trooper’s dash camera documenting the chase. 

Families call for reform of public records law

When officers shoot civilians, the incident sparks an examination by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation under state law. The bureau reviews police records capturing the incident and shares findings with the attorney general’s office, which is responsible for prosecuting the shootings.

From there, the attorney general presents the findings to a grand jury, which then decides whether to issue an indictment for criminal charges.

The process can take years. Throughout it, state law allows officials to block the public from accessing information if the release might “harm the investigation” or “jeopardize” the attorney general’s ability to prosecute the case. This can include information ranging from police video to the names of the officers who shot the victim.

MBI has previously said its policy is to decline to release the names of officers involved in a shooting unless a grand jury decides to charge them. 

If the officers are never indicted, the information may remain hidden.

Joe Fouche, a former police chief who is now working to connect the families with mental-health support as they grieve, told Mississippi Today that during his time working in law enforcement, he saw officers attempt to keep the public from accessing video and other records documenting police shootings.

He joined the families in calling for Mississippi to reform state law to allow the relatives of a victim of force by law enforcement to view video footage of the incident.

“You think we’re going to use it to harm you,” DiCello said of state and local officials. “I promise you, if your biggest fear is what some of these families would do with that information, then you’ve got a bigger problem than them.”

Madeline Nguyen is a Roy Howard Fellow at Mississippi Today.