Graphic Video Captures Moment 6-Year-Old Boy Is Killed by Police As Wounded Dad Says, 'My Little Boy'

Graphic video footage from the fatal November police shooting of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis was shown in a Louisiana court on Wednesday, during the evidentiary hearing in the murder trials of two deputy marshals accused in the boy's death.

The police body camera video, available to the public for the first time, was introduced in court by prosecutors to show that one of the accused deputies, Derrick Stafford, has a pattern of using excessive force, CBS News reports.

One state police official previously called the body camera footage "the most disturbing thing I've seen, and I will leave it at that."

Graphic Video Captures Moment 6-Year-Old Boy Is Killed by Police As Wounded Dad Says, 'My Little Boy'| Crime & Courts, Shootings, True Crime, Crime
Graphic Video Captures Moment 6-Year-Old Boy Is Killed by Police As Wounded Dad Says, 'My Little Boy'| Crime & Courts, Shootings, True Crime, Crime


Stafford and and Norris Greenhouse Jr. allegedly opened fire on a car driven by Mardis' father, Christopher Few, during a Nov. 3, 2015, incident in Marksville, Louisiana, that began when Few allegedly fled the marshals who were trying to serve him a warrant, authorities have said.

WFAB later reported that the Clerk of Court, the District Attorney's Office, Marksville Police Department and City Court didn't find any outstanding warrants for Few.

Prosecutors instead alleged this week that Stafford had a motive based on a history of excessive violence during his police duties, according to the Associated Press.

The marshals allegedly fired at least 18 rounds between them, four allegedly from Greenhouse and 14 from Stafford, killing Mardis and seriously injuring Few, who spent a week in the hospital.

A Louisiana grand jury indicted both men on second-degree murder charges in December, and they have also been charged with attempted second-degree murder in Few's shooting.

Mardis had autism and "loved everything, everybody," relatives have said.

The body camera video was newly released during their murder trials at a pre-trial hearing, according to The Advertiser. Second-degree murder is punishable in Louisiana by a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Graphic Video Captures Moment 6-Year-Old Boy Is Killed by Police As Wounded Dad Says, 'My Little Boy'| Crime & Courts, Shootings, True Crime, Crime
Graphic Video Captures Moment 6-Year-Old Boy Is Killed by Police As Wounded Dad Says, 'My Little Boy'| Crime & Courts, Shootings, True Crime, Crime


Both Stafford and Greenhouse have pleaded not guilty to their charges, according to the AP. Greenhouse's attorney, George Higgins, and Stafford's attorney, Christopher LaCour, could not immediately be reached for comment.

What the Video Shows

The moment Few's SUV was cornered is featured in the jarring police video and shows law enforcement firing into the car. There is no audio during the first 30 seconds.

(Authorities have alleged that, though there were other law enforcement present, only Greenhouse and Stafford opened fire at the scene.)

Few can apparently be seen in the video with at least one arm raised out of the window and later falls to the ground outside the driver door. At one point he can be heard talking about "my little boy."

After the shooting, an officer at the scene attempts to talk to Mardis, who is still wearing his school uniform. "Hey buddy," the officer says. "Hey buddy."

Defense attorneys argued in court that the deputies were acting in self-defense after Few allegedly rammed his car into a deputy's vehicle, CBS News reports. However, the new police video doesn't appear to show Few move his car toward the deputies, and the state's lead agent testified that there was no physical evidence of a collision, according to the Advertiser.

Stafford and Greenhouse both said they didn't know Mardis was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. Both deputies were previously accused in an unrelated civil rights lawsuit of using excessive force.

Greenhouse's trial is scheduled to begin in March 2017, and Stafford's trial is scheduled to begin in November, according to the AP.