The father of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis, the boy who was shot to death by police last week while a passenger in his dad’s vehicle, had his hands up as officers opened fire, police body camera video shows, according to the father’s lawyer.
Mark Jeansonne, attorney for Chris Few, first told The Associated Press that body camera video shows Few with his hands in the air before city marshals fired at Few’s vehicle, severely wounding Few and killing his son.
“This was not a threatening situation for the police,” Jeansonne said.
CBS News also reported that Few had his hands raised in the police video, citing an anonymous law enforcement source. The news organization reported that Jeansonne had not viewed the video himself, but that its contents were described by a judge during a hearing on Monday.
Jeansonne’s office declined to comment when reached by HuffPost. Louisiana State Police, in charge of the investigation into the shooting, declined to comment. State police Master Trooper Scott Moreau emailed HuffPost a gag order issued by Judge William J. Bennett late Monday barring all involved in the case from speaking about it to the media.
State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson, announcing the arrests of two of the four officers involved in the shooting, said Friday that the body camera video “is one of the most disturbing scenes I have seen.”
Lt. Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, each have been charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, state police said Friday.
Stafford is an officer with the Marksville police department. Greenhouse is a city marshal for the Alexandria City Office. Each were jailed under $1 million bond.
The two other officers involved in the shooting, Lt. Jason Brouillette and Sgt. Kenneth Parnell, have been placed on administrative leave.
Police said Few, 25, was driving his SUV, pursued by police, when officers fired at least 18 rounds in the direction of the vehicle. Police initially said the marshals were attempting to serve Few a warrant when he attempted to reverse his SUV into the officers. Edmonson, however, said there's no evidence of a warrant for Few and couldn't confirm that Few attempted to back into the officers. The state police leader also said no gun was found that could be linked to Few.
Jeremy, a first-grader in elementary school, died at the scene from head and chest wounds, Avoyelles Parish Coroner Dr. L. J. Mayeux said last week.
The boy was the youngest person killed by police in the U.S. this year, according to unofficial data collected by The Guardian.
Jeremy's family gathered Monday afternoon to mourn and bury the 6-year-old. His father remained hospitalized.
An obituary described Jeremy as "a very loving little boy and a true gift from God."