JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
A civil trial has begun in Hinds County involving local law enforcement, and the man who says they shot him for no reason. Ronnie Burton is suing the agencies, claiming they acted recklessly while serving a warrant.
Ronnie Burton's civil suit against Jackson Police, Hinds County Sheriff's Department and Bureau of Narcotics officers, claims they shot him while serving a search warrant in Presidential Hills in 2008. Burton says he was initially charged with five counts of aggravated assault on officers, who claim they were fired at first.
Burton's attorney Aafram Sellers says, "He was injured, arrested, those charges were dismissed, he was later indicted, those charges were dismissed."
Defense attorneys say the officers who fired their weapons were doing so to protect the residents in the area, and there's no proof Burton was shot by them.
"It was a through and through gun shot wound, he has no evidence showing that the caliber of the bullet or whether he was injured, it could have been fired by his other friends that were located on the premises," says Laura Gill, attorney for the City of Jackson.
Burton says he ran when officers pulled up, and admits he was armed but says he never fired a shot, unable to load his gun, he hid under a car, waited for marked officers to arrive, then showed them the bullet wound on his shoulder.
Gill says, "There is no evidence that any bullets were fired if any were fired by the Jet Team."
Burton is asking for the maximum civil penalty of $500,000. Judge Winston Kidd will make the final ruling.
Burton's friend, Johnavaris Cranford is set to go on trial this spring for 5 assault on a police officer charges for the same incident.
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