Jackson policewoman connected to officer-involved death fired, city officials confirm

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The City of Jackson has confirmed that Jackson Police Department Officer Kenya McCarty has been fired.

McCarty was one of three police officers placed on administrative leave with pay on January 4, after Keith Murriel died while in custody.

McCarty was also placed on leave in December 2021 after Flowood Police arrested her and another officer for possession of marijuana and an open container violation at Nature Trail Park.

Timesheets obtained exclusively by 3 On Your Side show McCarty was placed on three days of administrative leave and was back working at the department the next week.

If that incident was strike-one, it seems as though her handling of Murriel’s arrest on New Year’s Eve could have been her final strike, although city officials wouldn’t comment on why McCarty was terminated from the department.

While JPD’s Chief, James Davis, has chosen to stay silent on the issue for over 5 weeks, Jackson’s mayor has been rather outspoken.

“I am disagreeing with the chief’s words based on information that has been shared with me,” Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Monday.

The words Lumumba is referring to came in the form of a statement and were released three days after Murriel died.

Part of that statement reads, “while at the location, officers successfully took an individual into custody who experienced a medical emergency.”

“Yes, it is unusual for the mayor to sit up here and disagree with the chief,” Lumumba said. “But I do not believe - based on my reading of the statement - that it accurately portrays what I believe to have happened.”

Monday’s press briefing was the first time Jackson’s mayor disagreed with Chief’s statement in such an explicit fashion.

However, it appears he spoke out in a more subtle manner the month prior during the House Bill 1020 protest.

“This is about accountability. Right? This is about accountability for anybody who has the power to use deadly force in our city. I will stand here as your mayor and tell you that JPD isn’t perfect,” Lumumba said. “There are cases that we want to be reviewed from JPD.”

The mayor made it clear Monday that he was not suggesting the chief intended to make a statement to deceive and that Davis needs to speak for himself on what he meant by that statement.

WLBT granted Chief Davis and Assistant Chief Joseph Wade the opportunity to do just that Wednesday but didn’t hear back from either one.

Mayor Lumumba also said he sent a letter to MBI to release the body camera footage of the incident, which would be unprecedented for the agency to do.

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