From Murry v. City of Indianola, decided Thursday by Judge Debra Marie Brown (for stories on the incident, which confirm that the boy's name has been broadly reported, see here):
The plaintiff, A.M., an eleven-year-old boy, was shot in the chest by an Indianola Police Department officer responding to a domestic violence call at the home of his mother, Nakala Murry. The father of one of Murry's children, John Nolden, came to her home in the very early hours of May 20, 2023. His conduct and a history of domestic abuse caused Murry to fear for her safety and that of her two children and two nephews who were in the home. According to the police officers, they were unaware of the presence of children at the home, but were aware of the history of violence by Nolden.
One of the officers, the defendant, Greg Capers, shot A.M., though the parties give slightly varying descriptions of how the shooting happened. Caper's body camera captured the events giving rise to this case, including the events leading to the shooting of A.M. and the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Since the filing of this action, the plaintiff, Nakala Murry, plaintiff's counsel, and A.M. have all appeared in numerous articles, including nationwide print, and in broadcast media.
The defendants filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings and have proffered this body camera footage as an exhibit to the motion, but have moved for leave to file it under seal, at least for the duration of the litigation … .
The plaintiff—A.M.'s mother, suing on A.M.'s behalf—opposed the sealing, but the court disagreed:
