Killing of Jeremy Mardis

Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, and Derrick Stafford, 32, were officers with the Marksville Police Department. Greenhouse was a reserve officer with Marksville and served as a deputy marshal for the nearby Alexandria City Marshal's Office; he had been on the force for one year.

Stafford was a lieutenant and shift supervisor for the Marksville Police Department, and an eight-year veteran of that department.[11][3][12] He was "moonlighting" as a deputy marshal at the time of the shooting.[3] That night, Greenhouse and Stafford were working side jobs for the city marshal's office.[7] They were two of several officers hired by the Marksville Marshal's Office about three months prior to the shooting.[2]

At the time of the shooting, Greenhouse, Stafford, and Marksville Police Chief Elster Smith, Jr., were the subjects of a federal civil suit for use of force. Stafford was the subject of five civil suits in Avoyelles Parish; Greenhouse was named in one of these.[3] In addition, Stafford had been indicted in 2011 by Rapides Parish on two counts of aggravated rape, but the charges were dropped in 2012.[3][2]

Lieutenant Jason Brouillette, a 13-year veteran of the Marksville Police Department, and Sergeant Kenneth Parnell, a five-year veteran, responded to the backup call made by Greenhouse and Stafford.[12] Parnell was wearing a body camera, which recorded at least part of the incident.[3]

Brouillette and Parnell were placed on administrative leave following the incident.[12] Investigators do not believe either of them fired his weapon.[3]

Christopher Few moved from Mississippi to the Marksville area in April 2014[8] to work as an apprentice riverboat captain[3] and to be closer to his relatives.[13] He was listed in critical condition on November 3. A family spokesperson said that bullet fragments remained in Few's brain and lung.[3][13] His condition improved to serious by the following morning.[8] As of November 9, Few was hospitalized in Alexandria, Louisiana, where his condition had been upgraded to fair.[14] He was released from the hospital on November 13.[15] Few and Mardis shared a home with Few's mother prior to the shooting.[8] Body-cam footage reportedly shows Few had his hands up when he was shot.[13]

Jeremy David Mardis[3] (circa 2009 – November 3, 2015) was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.[8] At the time of the shooting, he was in the first grade and attended Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana.[13] He had moved with his father to Louisiana from Mississippi the year before.[8] Mardis' mother Katie Mardis, and his sister, still live in Mississippi.[13] Christopher Few's fiancée Dixon described Mardis as an affectionate and intelligent child, and said that Mardis did speak.[3] Mardis and Few shared a home with Few's mother prior to the shooting.[8] Mardis was in the front seat of Few's vehicle and wearing a seatbelt when they were shot.[6][14] He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A funeral for Mardis was held on November 9 at Moore Funeral Services in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where his mother and sister live. He was buried in Beaumont Cemetery.[7][14] His father was still hospitalized and unable to attend.[13]

Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police began an investigation into the shooting. He said that the body-camera video recorded by one of the responding officers was essential to the officers being arrested.[7][5][9] Other contributory evidence included interviews with the cooperating officers, 9-1-1 recordings, and unspecified forensic evidence.[3] Legal analysts cited by The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also attributed the arrests to the body-camera footage.[3]

Ballistics tests showed that of the four responding officers, only Greenhouse and Stafford fired their weapons.[17]

Although initial news reports said Few had a warrant for his arrest prior to or after the shooting, the state police have said this was not true.[7][5] In addition, Edmonson said that there was no evidence of a firearm inside Few's vehicle.[7][12][13]

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Office of the United States Attorney, are participating in the investigation.[16][18]

Few's fiancée Megan Dixon said that the police pursuit of Few may have been prompted by his running a red light or by the officers seeing an altercation she had with Few at a traffic light, when he approached her car and they had words. One police vehicle reportedly received damage caused by Few reversing into it.[19]

Dixon also said that Few had encountered Greenhouse a month before the shooting. He threatened to hurt Greenhouse after the officer contacted Dixon, a former high-school classmate, and went to the home she shared with Few. She said Few told Greenhouse, "Don't come to my home again, or I'll hurt you".[7][20]

Judge William Bennett of the Louisiana 12th Judicial District Court was assigned to the case and presided over the bail hearing on November 9. He issued a gag order that day, forbidding all parties, including police, victims, and witnesses, from discussing the case with the press.[13] Media outlets had requested the Louisiana State Police to release public records with information about the case, but these requests were denied as a result of the judge's order.[6]

A description of the body-cam video's contents was presented as evidence during the bail hearings, but the video was not shown.[13] Bail was set at US$1 million for each officer.[14] On November 24, Greenhouse's family posted bond and he was released.[21] Stafford posted bail and was released in March; both men were under house arrest.[22]

Stafford's trial began on March 13, 2017; Greenhouse's trial date was set for June 12, 2017. The judge had postponed these dates to allow the defense time to prepare, including for their use of expert witnesses.[23]

The jury[20] found Stafford guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter.[4][24] Stafford was sentenced to 40 years in prison, half of which would be served "without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence."[25]

On September 29, 2017, Greenhouse pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and malfeasance in office. He was sentenced to five years for the negligent-homicide charge and two years for the malfeasance in office. Sources stated that Few's family agreed to the terms of the plea deal. The attorney general's prosecutor cited differences in the actions of the two officers as the reason for the extreme differences in their sentences.[26] Norris Greenhouse, Jr., was released from prison as of July 3, 2019, after serving only 21 months (25%) of a seven-year sentence.