By Caleb Bedillion and William Moore
Daily Journal
TUPELO – A Lee County grand jury met Monday and cleared Tupelo police officer Tyler Cook of any criminal wrongdoing in the June 18 fatal shooting of Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert.
The June grand jury was recalled Monday morning at 9 a.m. and listened to all of the evidence. The grand jury then determined that Cook “acted lawfully on June 18 and has cleared him of any wrongdoing,” according to District Attorney John Weddle during a press conference Monday afternoon.
Shumpert, 37, fled a traffic stop in the Lee Acres neighborhood. During a confrontation with Cook, Shumpert was shot four times in the chest and abdomen. The details of the incident have been disputed.
Thomas Wells | Buy at photos.djournal.com
District Attorney John Weddle discusses the facts that were presented to the grand jury in the shooting death of Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert and that no charges are going to be filed against the Tupelo Police Department officer.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was called in to complete an independent investigation, which was monitored by the FBI, following the shooting.
Weddle released details of the state investigation Monday, which coincided significantly with information released by Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton last month.
Weddle said the investigation showed Tupelo Police Department officials were surveilling the Townhouse Motel on June 18 after repeated reports of drug activity. After the car Shumpert was driving pulled into the motel parking lot and left after just a few minutes, TPD Officer Joseph Senter followed the vehicle and made a traffic stop at approximately 9:30 p.m.
Weddle said the car did not have a working tag light and failed to signal turns.
Once the car was pulled over in the neighborhood, Shumpert ran, despite orders from Senter to remain in the car.
Cook and his K-9 unit arrived at the scene shortly after the stop, and Cook eventually located Shumpert hiding in a crawl space under a house on the 900 block of Harrison Street.
“When Shumpert retreated further under the house, officer Cook released the K-9,” Weddle said. “During the struggle, the dog lost control but still had Shumpert’s jersey.
“Shumpert emerged from under the house, charged officer Cook and tackled him.”
Weddle said Shumpert got on top of Cook and while sitting astride the officer, began hitting him in the head with his fists.
“Officer Cook had his weapon in his right hand (using the flashlight to search for Shumpert in the dark) and was trying to defend himself with his left hand,” Weddle said. “When he felt he was losing consciousness, he fired four times.”
The autopsy report, compiled by state medical examiner Dr. Mark LeVaughn, said the first shot entered the groin, traveling from front to back. The next three shots all traveled in an upward direction from front to back.
During a separate press conference later in the day, however, Shumpert family attorney Carlos Moore continued questioning the investigation and pledged to keep fighting.
Adam Robison | Buy at photos.djournal.com
Peggy Shumpert, widow of Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert, is surrounded by family members as she addresses members of the media during a news conference outside the Lee County Justice Center late Monday afternoon.
Shumpert’s family members have said the shooting was unjustified, seeking $35 million in damages in a federal lawsuit against the city. They’ve also called for a federal civil rights investigation into Shumpert’s death and the broader practices of the Tupelo Police Department.
“Words cannot express what I felt when I heard they decided not to indict,” said Shumpert’s widow, Peggy Shumpert. “Tyler Cook got to go home to his loved ones while my husband is in the grave.”
Shelton issued a statement Monday afternoon saying “our hearts go out to the Shumpert family with sympathy and acknowledgement of their loss and grief.”
He also strongly criticized Moore for his actions in handling the case thus far.
“He is, in my opinion, victimizing the Shumpert family by the manner in which he is representing them,” Shelton said of Moore.
Shelton specifically charged that Moore has distorted and misrepresented the facts of the shootings.
“The outlandish allegations have diminished his credibility,” Shelton said of Moore. “When he makes allegations that are proven time and time and time again to be false, he diminishes the ability to get the very justice he seeks.”
Weddle refuted claims by Shumpert’s family and Moore that Shumpert had suffered improper violence at the hands of Cook and a police dog.
“There are no wounds described in the autopsy that are consistent with a dog bite,” Weddle said.
Weddle said physical evidence showed Shumpert was shot four times at close range, consistent with Cook’s version of events that Shumpert had emerged from under a house and attacked the officer, leading Cook to shoot Shumpert when the officer feared for his life.
Weddle also refuted claims that Shumpert had been bitten in the groin by Cook’s police dog, saying that was a gunshot wound. He also said cuts on Shumpert’s back came from efforts to remove the bullets and were not seen in pictures taken at the scene.
Finally, he refuted Moore’s claims that he had found an eyewitness who had recorded video, saying the woman in question was held by a police officer near the scene of the original traffic stop and could not have seen the altercation in the backyard of a house.
Moore said on Monday there is one more unnamed witness who saw the event but is too scared to come forward. He said Shumpert’s brother-in-law received a call on June 19 from a blocked number that witnessed the incident.
“This man is an eyewitness and said he saw the dog attack Ronnie’s groin, but he is too scared to come forward,” Moore said. “We feel he will come forward and testify with the FBI looking into things.”
With no criminal prosecution for Cook, Shelton said the city will continue to defend itself against the charges of Moore’s civil lawsuit.
Adam Robison | Buy at photos.djournal.com
Dollie Jones, mother of Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert, stands with Shumpert’s uncle, Donnell Nichols, as she addresses members of the media during a news conference outside the Lee County Justice Center late Monday afternoon.
Shelton said he hopes the grand jury’s decision not to indict Cook will help bring the civil case closer to resolution.
A response to Moore’s claims was filed Monday in federal court on the city’s behalf.
That response asserted in part that Moore’s suit is “frivolous, unreasonable and/or groundless and totally without merit.”
Shelton noted that he would welcome any additional investigation into the case by federal authorities.
“The federal government, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation have all been in contact with either the city, MBI, or local law enforcement about this case,” Shelton said. “We can neither make them or stop them from conducting an investigation.”
caleb.bedillion@jouranlinc.com
william.moore@journalinc.com