This photo, released by the City of Tupelo on Friday, shows Tupelo Police officer Tyler Cook in an ambulance one hour after the incident on June 18. (City of Tupelo photo)
Daily Journal
TUPELO – The city of Tupelo released this morning a photo of the Tupelo police officer who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop that led to a foot chase and alleged altercation.
With the release of the photo, the city also officially confirmed the identity of the officer, Tupelo Police Department’s Tyler Cook. Up until Friday, Cook had only been identified through the attorney representing the family of the man who died during the incident, Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert.
On June 18, Shumpert reportedly fled from a traffic stop and then is alleged by authorities to have attacked a Tupelo Police Department officer and a K-9 unit before being shot. He was transported to the hospital and later died.
City leaders have been quiet on the exact details of the incident saying they were waiting for the investigation to be completed by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
The photo released Friday morning shows Cook in an ambulance one hour after the incident. In the photo, bruising and swelling is visible around one of his eyes. A cut or blood is visible on the bridge of his nose. What appears to be blood is visible on his neck.
City officials declined to comment further on the photo.
Members of the City Council met Thursday behind closed doors for more than an hour Thursday but made no official decisions regarding a federal lawsuit that was filed Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed by Grenada attorney Carlos Moore, alleges wrongful death and constitutional violations in the shooting.
Moore filed the lawsuit Thursday afternoon in Aberdeen on behalf of Peggy Shumpert, the widow of Antwun Shumpert, and Charles Foster, who was the passenger in the vehicle Antwun Shumpert was driving.
The 11-page complaint lists Mayor Jason Shelton, Police Chief Bart Aguirre, Cook and 10 John Does as defendants. The suit claims assault and battery; violations of due process, equal dignity and equal protection rights; excessive force; and wrongful death.
Members of the City Council met Thursday to discuss the lawsuit and disbanded with no official decisions or statements being made.
Other officials were invited into the closed session with council members including Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton, city attorney Ben Logan, Aguirre and representatives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
State law allows public bodies to conduct such closed-door sessions to discuss a narrow scope of topics, including litigation.
Check back with the Daily Journal for updates as this story develops