Grand jury: Shooting by Gulfport officer 'appropriate'

GULFPORT -- A Harrison County grand jury has found no wrongdoing in an officer-involved shooting that wounded a man said to have lunged at a Gulfport police officer with a large knife July 1 behind a home on Lyndell Boulevard.

The grand jury reached its decision Monday regarding a July 1 shooting that wounded Gaige Bradden Iverson, now 19.

District Attorney Joel Smith released the grand jury's partial report after it was filed.

Police Chief Leonard Papania said the officer who wounded Iverson is Joseph Fore, a 21-year veteran of the Gulfport Police Department.

"Officer Fore's actions typify what we always look for in a police officer and is to be commended for his actions on that day," Papania said.

"He protected his life and the life of another individual. It's unfortunate that subject put himself in those circumstances," he said.

The report said the grand jury considered all the facts and circumstances and found no criminal conduct on the officer's part "and further finds that his actions were appropriate."

The shooting occurred after a police dispatcher received a call reporting a man had jumped from the balcony of a home on Lyndell, which is east of U.S. 49 near Depew Road and Government Street.

At the time, Papania said the suspect refused to put down a large kitchen knife and lunged at an officer, who fired his weapon several times.

Iverson was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Iverson has been held at the Harrison County jail since July 14 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, burglary of a residence and possession of stolen property.

His bonds total $200,000.

Iverson's charges have been sent to a grand jury for review, the jail docket shows.

The shooting was Gulfport's second officer-involved shooting last year.

Rodney Biggs, 49, of Arlington, Texas, was shot to death Feb. 26 as police responded to a report of an accident at Middle Drive and U.S. 49.

The case was ruled a justifiable homicide.

A grand jury in July 2015 found no criminal conduct on the part of police Sgt. Charles Koewers.

Biggs refused to get out of his pickup truck and reached for a gun when officers tried to get him out of the truck, according to previous reports.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Grand jury: Shooting by Gulfport officer 'appropriate' ."