Family of infant killed in blaze of gunfire in I-10 shootout files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of La’Mello Parker, a baby killed during a blaze of gunfire on Interstate 10 last year, has filed a wrongful death suit against multiple Coast officers and law enforcement agencies.

The lawsuit, filed this month in Hinds County Circuit Court, names the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Harrison County, Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson, two Harrison County sheriff’s deputies, the city of Gulfport, a Gulfport police officer and several unnamed Highway Patrol troopers as defendants.

“As a society, we counted on law enforcement that day to protect baby La’Mello,” said J. Matthew Eichelberger, attorney for the child’s family. “Instead, those very officers we counted on fired bullet after bullet after bullet at a car, knowing full well that baby La’Mello was inside. The actions of law enforcement were unacceptable, and they will be held accountable.”

In a high-profile case, La’Mello died of a gunshot wound to the back after law enforcement fired over 20 rounds into the vehicle of Eric Derrell Smith, La’Mello’s father. Smith was on the run with La’Mello after kidnapping his infant son and killing La’Mello’s mother and her nephew near Baton Rouge.

Police followed Smith in a pursuit that spanned from Louisiana to Mississippi and ended on I-10 in Gulfport, when police drove Smith off the road and fired multiple rounds at his vehicle. Smith and La’Mello, who was inside the vehicle, both died from the gunfire.

“Each and every law enforcement officer who fired his weapon knew La’Mello was innocent, helpless, and in the line of their fire,” the lawsuit said. “When an innocent citizen is in the line of fire, officers are to take cover and wait. The safety of the innocent citizen – those the officers swear an oath to protect – is always paramount.”

In April, a Harrison County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by law enforcement.

But family members of La’Mello and organizations including the Biloxi NAACP and Black Lives Matter Mississippi have demanded accountability for La’Mello’s death.

The counts in the lawsuit include reckless endangerment by DPS, reckless endangerment by Harrison County, reckless endangerment by individual law enforcement officers, deprivation of civil rights and failure to intervene on behalf of the defendants.

The lawsuit also alleges the defendants “intentionally and recklessly” violated the civil rights granted to La’Mello under the 4th and 14th amendments. The family asks for an unspecified amount of damages and a “full and complete trial by jury.”

A lawsuit represents only one side of a legal argument. The defendants have not yet filed a response.

This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 3:02 PM.