Updated June 15, 2023 at 4:34 PM ET
The Mississippi police officer who shot and wounded an 11-year-old boy in his home after he called authorities for help was suspended without pay — effective immediately, according to officials.
In a Monday night board meeting, the Indianola Board of Aldermen voted 4-1 to suspend Sgt. Greg Capers without pay "effective immediately," Alderman Marvin Elder told NPR.
The Indianola Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. Capers' attorney, Michael Carr, told NPR that the board's vote took place in a closed-door meeting without either him or Capers being notified.
Carr said both he and Capers found out about the decision of the suspension on social media.
"Despite not having an opportunity to be heard, the city's decision to change the suspension from with pay to without pay is merely a cost-saving measure by [officials] as part of an administrative process ...," Carr said in a statement to NPR.
Carr said the shooting was "unintentional" and that Capers did not mean to shoot 11-year-old Aderrien Murry.
The move from the Board of Aldermen comes nearly a month after Murry was left seriously injured after Capers shot him in the chest responding to a 911 call Murry had made.
Murry has since been recovering from his injuries — which include a collapsed lung, a fractured rib and a lacerated liver.
His family filed a $5 million federal lawsuit last month, which argues that the police officers who responded to the domestic disturbance call acted in a way that was "so outrageous that it shocks the moral and legal conscience of the community."
The lawsuit filed by the family names the city of Indianola, and the two police officials, as the defendants.
The suit acuses the police department of gross negligence and reckless disregard, in addition to failing to properly train and supervise its officers.
Additionally, the family has called for Capers and Indianola Police Chief Ronald Sampson to be fired. They also have asked for body camera footage of the incident to be released.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the shooting.
NPR's Bill Chappell contributed to this report. contributed to this story
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
