<ul class="summary-list"><li>The officers involved in a shootout that resulted in a 3-month-old baby being killed have been cleared.</li><li>A Harrison County, <keyword id="11898268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mississippi" source="Orion">Mississippi</keyword>, grand jury reviewed the incident and declined to press charges.</li></ul>The relative of an infant who was killed in a shootout between the boy's father and police last year says she's upset with a grand jury's decision to clear the officers involved. Lashunda Parker told Insider on Friday that it's "heartbreaking" that no one will he held responsible for the death of her cousin, <a href="https://www.insider.com/lamello-parker-officer-involved-shooting-family-waits-for-answers-2022-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">La'Mello Parker. </a>La'Mello was just three months old on May 3, 2021, when his father, Eric Smith, kidnapped him and led police on a chase from Louisiana to Mississippi. Bystander video shows the moment multiple police vehicles surrounded Smith's car after it came to the stop in the middle of I-10. Seconds later the sound of multiple rounds of gunfire could be heard. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene while baby La'Mello died at the hospital a day later.The Biloxi Police Department headed the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, and turned the results of their investigation over to a Harrison County grand jury, which ultimately decided not to charge the officers involved, according to a partial grand jury report released to the public on Tuesday. The Harrison County District Attorney's Office did not immediately return Insider's email for comment on when the full report is expected to be released.<h2>Officers 'got off easy'</h2>Lashunda Parker said she doesn't think justice was done to her baby cousin, and felt the officers involved in the shootout "got off easy." She said she's never received an apology from law enforcement agencies over what she calls a "pretty messed up situation."Parker said she wishes someone would have at least been suspended or taken off the force for what happened. <h2>New details about a tragic shootout</h2>The grand jury report revealed more detail about the shooting than has been released to the public before. The tragic day started with Smith killing La'Mello's mother, Christin Parker, and her nephew, Brandon Parker, then taking off with baby La'Mello and heading towards Mississippi. Police officers from multiple jurisdictions were soon chasing Smith, using his cell phone to track his location. <div type="image" title="La'Mello Parker shooting" height="1125" width="2000" msid="91014827" hostid="261"></div>Once the chase crossed over into Mississippi, even more agencies got involved, and tried to stop Smith using a spike strip at the 11-mile marker of Interstate 10. Smith got of his vehicle soon after, shooting in the direction of police officers while holding his son, according to the grand jury report. Smith then reentered his vehicle and continued to lead police on a chase. The report says "deputies made multiple attempts to contact Smith in an effort to negotiate a surrender, however, Smith failed to answer his phone." At around the 40-mile marker on Interstate 10, the report says a deputy forced Smith's vehicle from the road and both vehicles got stuck in some mud. The deputy got out of his vehicle and ran back towards the road, but then doubled back when he realized that his K-9 had gotten out of the vehicle. "As a result, the deputy was in Smith's line of fire," the report continues. "Smith rolled down his driver side window, extended a handgun from the window, and fired in the direction of the deputy and others. Smith's bullet hit a nearby patrol unit. At this point, multiple law enforcement officers returned fire simultaneously, resulting in Smith being shot three times by law enforcement and <keyword id="13139923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lamello-parker" source="Orion">La'Mello Parker</keyword> being shot one time by law enforcement." While the grand jury didn't recommend any charges, they did call on law enforcement agencies to "address procedures in place and implement training related to communication and chain of command in multi-jurisdictional cases." Insider reached out to the Biloxi Police Department about whether the full results of the investigation would be released to the public, but did not immediately receive a response on Friday. Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said Tuesday that La'Mello's death was his father's fault, calling Smith's actions "violent and reckless," according to <a href="https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/mississippi-officers-cleared-shooting-deaths-of-man-baby/289-36b1f8f0-6db2-496c-8c1e-ff162a1f53e3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WWLTV</a>."Although all of the agencies involved took several steps to prevent this tragic outcome, La'Mello Parker's life was needlessly taken as a direct result of the violent actions of his father, Eric Smith," Tindell said.

Family heartbroken after grand jury clears officer who killed baby boy in Mississippi shootout

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Three-month-old <keyword id="13139923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lamello-parker" source="Orion">La'Mello Parker</keyword> was killed after a police shootout involving his father in May. </li><li>On Tuesday, Insider obtained a police call log related to the car chase and shootout. </li></ul>Insider has learned that police knew a 3-month-old baby was in the front seat of a car when they opened fire on the vehicle during a confrontation with the boy's father last May. Last month, <a href="https://www.insider.com/lamello-parker-officer-involved-shooting-family-waits-for-answers-2022-2">Insider</a> reported on the May 2021 death of La'Mello Parker, which at the time was under investigation by Biloxi Police. Just <a href="https://www.wlbt.com/2022/02/10/biloxi-police-complete-investigation-into-3-month-olds-death-i-10-shootout/">a day</a> after Insider published our story on La'Mello's death, Biloxi Police <a href="https://www.insider.com/lamello-parker-shooting-investigation-completed-after-insider-report-2022-2">announced</a> that they had completed the investigation and turned the case over to the Harrison County District Attorney's Office, which will take the case to a grand jury. The DA's office did not return Insider's request for comment on whether the case had been presented to a grand jury yet on Tuesday. La'Mello's cousin, Lashunda Parker, told Insider that the family has been given little to no information about the shootout — including whether it was an officer's bullet that fired the fatal shot. As Insider previously reported, Eric Derrell Smith kidnapped his son after murdering La'Mello's mother and her nephew at a home in Louisiana on May 3, 2021. He then led police on a chase into <keyword id="11898268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mississippi" source="Orion">Mississippi</keyword>, which finally came to an end when he ran over a spike strip near Biloxi and came to a stop in the middle of a highway median. <div type="image" title="La'Mello Parker shooting" height="1125" width="2000" msid="89954965" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/G.R.I.M.fatha/videos/4797278726954822/?d=n">Bystander video</a> shows the moment the car came to a stop, and officers circled the vehicle with guns drawn. Just seconds later, the sound of multiple rounds being fired could be heard. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, while La'Mello died at a hospital the following day. On Tuesday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi responded to a records request from Insider, releasing a call log related to chase. The department was not directly involved in the pursuit, but was getting ready to aid in case the chase crossed over into their county, which it never did. The log is an account of what their dispatcher was hearing on a police scanner from other agencies tracking the pursuit. The log showed that officers knew a baby was in the front seat of the vehicle, though the log didn't specify whether the baby was in his father's arms, or in the front passenger seat. Insider reached out to the agencies involved in the chase for comment as to why police opened fire on the vehicle if they knew a baby was inside. Just two agencies — the Harrison County Sheriff's Office and the Louisiana State Police — responded. The Hancock County Sheriff's office, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's office, the Gulfport Police Department, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the US Marshals did not return Insider's request for comment.Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson said he couldn't comment because the case had not been presented to a grand jury yet and his office wasn't the investigating body. A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police told Insider that the agency wouldn't have been involved once the chase crossed state lines. After the incident, the police agencies involved in the chase have remained tight-lipped as to why the situation escalated. But police sources suggested in interviews with local outlets that Smith was to blame.A law enforcement source told <a href="https://www.fox10tv.com/news/baby-used-as-human-shield-in-mississippi-shootout-source-says/article_055dd1f6-ad30-11eb-b1bc-dbe449480ddd.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 10</a> that Smith had been holding his son as a human shield. The Advocate, citing an anonymous source, reported a similar story — that Smith had been holding his son on his chest while driving. The source also told <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_65842d8c-ad0d-11eb-96f0-5712f243b249.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Advocate</a> that Smith fired a shot at officers at least an hour before the final shootout, injuring no one. The Advocate said it was unclear who fired first in the final shootout. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—WAFB (@WAFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1389293988163751937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2021</a></blockquote>After learning about the call log, Lashunda Parker questioned why officers decided to fire into the vehicle, if they knew La'Mello was in the front seat, and they had Smith surrounded. "Why would they shoot if they knew a baby was in the car, why would they do that?" Parker asked on Tuesday. She said she felt angry about how the situation was handled. "I'm angry about it," she said. "I'm also angry about what happened to his mother and her nephew. It was three tragedies in one day and that's horrible."Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Jackson County Sheriff's Office was involved in the pursuit of Eric Derrell Smith. The office was tracking the pursuit in the event that the chase crossed into their county and they needed to get involved, but it never did.

Police records confirm officers knew a  3-month-old baby was in the front seat when they opened fire on the vehicle, killing the boy and his father

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13139923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lamello-parker" source="Orion">La'Mello Parker</keyword> died during a police shootout involving his father in May. </li><li>Biloxi PD completed their investigation into the baby's death on Friday. It's now with the DA's office.</li></ul>The investigation into the death of a 3-month-old baby after a police shootout in Mississippi has wrapped - following a nearly year-long investigation - but the baby's family still haven't been told who fired the fatal shot. Biloxi Police officials confirmed to <a href="https://www.wxxv25.com/investigation-into-shooting-death-of-three-month-old-heading-to-grand-jury/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WXXV</a> on Friday that the investigation into La'Mello Parker's death had been completed and handed over to the Harrison County District Attorney's Office, two days after <a href="https://www.insider.com/lamello-parker-officer-involved-shooting-family-waits-for-answers-2022-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider</a> brought national attention to the case. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell told <a href="https://www.wlbt.com/2022/02/10/biloxi-police-complete-investigation-into-3-month-olds-death-i-10-shootout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WLOX</a> that the investigation will be presented to a grand jury after his office has had a chance to review the file. It will then be up to a grand jury to decide whether charges are warranted. It's unclear when that might happen. "Due to legal and ethical obligations, the District Attorney's Office cannot comment on the content of the file or when the file will be presented to the grand jury," Burrell told WLOX.Insider reached out to Burrell for an update on Monday, but did not immediately receive a response.<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FG.R.I.M.fatha%2Fvideos%2F4797278726954822%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>Insider also reached out to the Biloxi Police Department for comment on what prompted the conclusion of the investigation, but did not receive a response. The department spent more than nine months investigating the shooting. La'Mello's cousin, Lashunda Parker, told Insider on Monday that officials never reached out to tell her that the investigation had wrapped. Instead, she learned about the development from an activist with Black Lives Matter Mississippi. Parker said she was displeased with the fact that authorities haven't kept the family in the loop as the investigation progressed, and how they still haven't told the family whether it was an officer's bullet that killed La'Mello. She said she wants the results of the investigation — especially the identity of who killed La'Mello — released to the public as soon as possible. La'Mello died in May 2021, after his father led police on a chase from Louisiana to Mississippi. Eric Derrell Smith kidnapped his son after murdering the boy's mother and her nephew at a home in Baker, Louisiana, police told <a href="https://www.wlox.com/2021/05/05/coroner-infant-died-after-caught-crossfire-between-police-double-murder-suspect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local outlets</a>.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/G.R.I.M.fatha/videos/4797278726954822/?d=n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bystander video</a> showed the chase coming to an end near Biloxi, Mississippi, when Smith ran over a spike strip and drove into a highway median. Within seconds of coming to a stop, video showed police surrounding Smith's car with guns drawn, and the sound of more than a dozen rounds of shots ringing out. Smith died at the scene while baby La'Mello died the following day at the hospital. Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer told <a href="https://www.wlox.com/2021/05/05/coroner-infant-died-after-caught-crossfire-between-police-double-murder-suspect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WLOX</a> at the time that Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds and La'Mello died of a single gunshot wound. Police have never confirmed whether it was an officer that fired the shot that killed La'Mello, but news reports in the wake of the tragedy showed authorities trying to raise the possibility that it was the father's fault. A law enforcement source told <a href="https://www.fox10tv.com/news/baby-used-as-human-shield-in-mississippi-shootout-source-says/article_055dd1f6-ad30-11eb-b1bc-dbe449480ddd.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 10</a> after the shootout that Smith had been holding his son as a human shield. <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_65842d8c-ad0d-11eb-96f0-5712f243b249.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Advocate</a>, citing an anonymous source, reported a similar story — that Smith had been holding his son on his chest while driving. The source also told The Advocate that Smith fired a shot at officers at least an hour before the final shootout, injuring no one. The Advocate said it was unclear who fired first in the final shootout.

Mississippi authorities complete investigation into how a baby died during a police shootout, following Insider's report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Three-month-old <keyword id="13139923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lamello-parker" source="Orion">La'Mello Parker</keyword> was shot to death after his father led police on a chase in May. </li><li>More than nine months later, authorities still haven't said whether police fired the fatal shot. </li></ul>More than nine months after a three-month-old baby was killed following a police shootout in <keyword id="11898268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mississippi" source="Orion">Mississippi</keyword>, authorities still haven't told La'Mello Parker's family whether it was an officer's bullet that killed the infant.In an interview with Insider, La'Mello's cousin, Lashunda Parker, said it's unacceptable that the family still doesn't have answers all these months later, especially considering it was a baby who was killed. "Something gotta be done," Parker said. "We need some kind of answers here." La'Mello was kidnapped by his 30-year-old father, Eric Derrell Smith, on May 3, 2021, after Smith killed the baby's mother, his ex Christin Parker, and her 26-year-old nephew at a home in Baker, Louisiana, police told <a href="https://www.wlox.com/2021/05/05/coroner-infant-died-after-caught-crossfire-between-police-double-murder-suspect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local outlets</a>. Smith then took off with his son, leading officers on a more than 100-mile chase to Mississippi, according to <a href="https://www.wlox.com/2021/09/09/lamello-parkers-family-community-members-protest-justice-outside-gulfport-police-department/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WLOX. </a><div type="image" title="Christen Parker" height="1499" width="1999" msid="89462346" hostid="261"></div>That chase ended when he veered off the highway, and became stuck in the median near Biloxi. Just seconds after his vehicle came to a stop, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/G.R.I.M.fatha/videos/4797278726954822/?d=n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bystander video</a> showed police surrounding the vehicle with guns drawn, and then the sound of more than a dozen rounds ringing out. Smith died at the scene, while baby La'Mello was transported to the hospital, where he died the next day.Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer told <a href="https://www.wlox.com/2021/05/05/coroner-infant-died-after-caught-crossfire-between-police-double-murder-suspect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WLOX</a> that Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds while La'Mello died of a single gunshot. He would not say whether the bullet that killed La'Mello had been fired by an officer, but two officers were placed on administrative leave after the shootout, pending the results of an investigation, Biloxi Police officials told <a href="https://www.fox10tv.com/news/baby-used-as-human-shield-in-mississippi-shootout-source-says/article_055dd1f6-ad30-11eb-b1bc-dbe449480ddd.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 10 News</a> in May.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Girl With the Most Cake⚜ (@bibliofleur) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1390104547696300038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2021</a></blockquote>The shooting remains under investigation more than nine months later, leaving the Parker family without even the most basic facts about how baby La'Mello died.There's also confusion over whether Smith may have played a role, since a law enforcement source told <a href="https://www.fox10tv.com/news/baby-used-as-human-shield-in-mississippi-shootout-source-says/article_055dd1f6-ad30-11eb-b1bc-dbe449480ddd.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 10</a> after the shootout that Smith had been holding his son as a human shield. <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_65842d8c-ad0d-11eb-96f0-5712f243b249.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Advocate</a>, citing an anonymous source, reported a similar story — that Smith had been holding his son on his chest while driving. The source also told The Advocate that Smith fired a shot at officers at least an hour before the final shootout, injuring no one. The Advocate said it was unclear who fired first in the final shootout.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—WAFB (@WAFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1389293988163751937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2021</a></blockquote>Lashunda Parker questioned why officers were so quick to fire when they had Smith surrounded."He wasn't going anywhere after the car stopped," she said. While the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation normally investigates officer-involved shootings, the Biloxi Police Department is leading the investigation, according to the <a href="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/15954/unanswered-questions-surround-killing-of-baby-lamello-parker-in-biloxi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mississippi Free Press. </a>The Free Press reports that this is due to the fact that the Mississippi Highway Patrol was involved in the shooting. The MBI is part of the same agency as the Highway Patrol.<div type="image" title="La'Mello Parker shooting" height="1125" width="1500" msid="89462347" hostid="261"></div>The Biloxi PD did not respond to Insider's multiple requests for comment this week about the current state of the investigation. Police Chief John Miller told the <a href="https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/crime/article256060612.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sun-Herald</a> earlier this month that the FBI Crime Lab is analyzing evidence from the shooting. He explained that normally that evidence would be turned over to the state crime lab, but it couldn't in this situation because the Highway Patrol is under the same umbrella department. The results of the investigation will be handed over to the Harrison County District Attorney's Office when completed. La'Mello's death is one of several in Mississippi involving the police that remain under investigation months after they happened. Insider previously reported on the case of <a href="https://www.insider.com/mississippi-police-silent-on-investigation-into-death-of-a-black-man-2022-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Damien Cameron</a>, a 29-year-old Black man who died while in police custody in Rankin County on July 26. Cameron's mother told Insider that deputies chased Cameron inside their house, tased him twice, and knelt on his back for more than 15 minutes while he complained that he couldn't breathe. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate Cameron's death nearly seven months later.

A 3-month-old baby died after police fired a barrage of bullets into his father's car. More than 9 months later, La'Mello Parker's family is still waiting for answers.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Video showed a Mississippi police officer violently arresting a Black man on Friday.</li><li>The Mississippi highway patrolman knelt on the man, who was handcuffed, the footage shows.</li></ul>Video has surfaced showing a Mississippi highway patrolman violently restraining and arresting a Black man during a traffic stop in McComb, Mississippi, on Friday.The video, which was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100076841409341/videos/735184644255489">livestreamed on Facebook</a> by a man named Packer Lewis and has been viewed over 522,000 times, shows a patrolman dragging Eugene Lewis, a Black man in handcuffs, and pulling him to the ground on the side of a road. The patrolman pushes his knee into Lewis's side while pointing a Taser at the man recording the video, the footage shows."That's how George Floyd died right there," Packer Lewis can he heard saying in the video.<a href="https://www.insider.com/derek-chauvin-appeals-murder-conviction-without-a-lawyer-2021-9">George Floyd</a> was a Black man who died after former Minneapolice Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for several minutes in May 2020. Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. In the video of the Mississippi arrest, the patrolman, who is white according to the Associated Press, raises Eugene Lewis up by the arms and puts him into the back of his patrol car. It concludes with the patrolman walking toward the man who is recording and threatening to arrest him before putting another man who is also recording into handcuffs.Eugene Lewis <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=780004089713979">told WJTV</a> that the patrolman pulled him over for driving 5 miles-per-hour above the speed limit. He told the outlet that the patrolman arrested him for claiming he smoked marijuana before he began driving, which he denies. Lewis said the patrolman "hit me under my throat" after he called him a racist.State Rep. Daryl Porter, a Democrat, released a statement about the video on Saturday, calling it "alarming." Porter said that he had spoken directly with the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, who said that it had opened an internal affairs investigation into the patrolman and that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is investigating as well.The three men in the video are brothers, and all three were arrested by the highway patrol, according to WJTV. It's unclear what the men were arrested for and a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which houses the highway patrol and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, declined to comment on the reason for the three men's arrests.Insider previously covered the death of a baby named <a href="https://www.insider.com/lamello-parker-officer-involved-shooting-family-waits-for-answers-2022-2">La'Mello Parker</a>, who was shot by police in Mississippi. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations did not investigate Parker's death and deferred the investigation to the Biloxi Police Department because officers from the highway patrol were involved in the shooting, according to the <a href="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/15954/unanswered-questions-surround-killing-of-baby-lamello-parker-in-biloxi">Mississippi Free Press</a>. While the Department of Public Safety declined to comment on whether it is standard for the MBI to investigate allegations of misconduct against highway patrolmen, it shared a statement that read:"On Friday, August 5, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety was made aware of an incident involving a Mississippi Highway Patrolman conducting an arrest on a subject in McComb, MS. This incident is being reviewed internally by the Department of Public Safety. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is also conducting an inquiry. No further comment will be made at this time."Packer Lewis, the man who recorded the video, said in a Facebook post that he was in jail for multiple days after the incident. "I honestly believe that if this situation would've happened at night that either me or my brother would've been gunned down or seriously hurt," Lewis <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076841409341">wrote on Facebook</a>. We don't need officers here to protect and serve like this trooper, I stayed in jail for a couple days for absolutely nothing, sad but it's the world we live in."

You Searched For "la mello parker" and got 5 results

Family heartbroken after grand jury clears officer who killed baby boy in Mississippi shootout

Ashley Collman

Police records confirm officers knew a 3-month-old baby was in the front seat when they opened fire on the vehicle, killing the boy and his father

Ashley Collman,Hannah Beckler

Mississippi authorities complete investigation into how a baby died during a police shootout, following Insider's report

Ashley Collman,Hannah Beckler

A 3-month-old baby died after police fired a barrage of bullets into his father's car. More than 9 months later, La'Mello Parker's family is still waiting for answers.

Ashley Collman,Hannah Beckler

Video shows a Mississippi state police officer violently arresting a Black man during a traffic stop

Kenneth Niemeyer