Mississippi AG declines to retry officer after manslaughter jury deadlock

In Jackson, Mississippi, a jury deadlocked on the manslaughter charge against Capitol Police officer Michael Rhinewalt and cleared fellow officer Steven Frederick in the 2022 killing of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that her office will not request a new trial for Rhinewalt, arguing that a tie means the benefit of the doubt should go to police officers. The shooting, which involved the officers in unmarked cars and plain clothes, has intensified debate over law-enforcement practices in the predominantly Black capital and prompted a civil suit by Lewis’s mother.

Rhinewalt also faces a separate aggravated assault charge from another 2022 police shooting involving Sherita Harris. Both officers maintain they acted out of fear for their lives after Lewis allegedly drove toward them. Their attorneys reiterated the tragic nature of the event while emphasizing the officers’ perceived threat.