Civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent family of Gulfport teen shot and killed by police officer

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - On Thursday, nationally recognized civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced that he would represent the family of 15-year-old Jaheim McMillan, who was shot and killed by a Gulfport police officer.

Crump issued this statement:

“This child had his whole life ahead of him, but bullets from those officers took all possibility of that away in an instant. While much remains unknown about this case, we fully intend to put pressure on officials in Mississippi until this family gets the answers they need and deserve. We are calling for officials to release any and all video footage of the incident so that we can see with our own eyes what transpired on that tragic night.”

The announcement comes just one day after Crump tweeted about the incident, demanding that there be a full investigation and release of video evidence.

In an interview with WLOX on Wednesday, Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said a full investigation is underway, but it must be completed before before any videos are released to the public. He said they’re hoping that work will be finished by the end of the year.

“Not only will the video be made available, but our file will be made available as well as our investigative narrative and our work can be scrutinized,” Tindell said. “The ultimate decisions of a grand jury or jury can be scrutinized.”

McMillan died Saturday at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Ala. after being taken off of life support.

Four other teens in the car with McMillian were arrested that day, charged with aggravated assault. Gulfport Police were originally looking for the vehicle after receiving reports about the teens driving erratically and waving guns at other drivers.

Want more WLOX news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2022 WLOX. All rights reserved.