Former Columbus Police Department Officer Canyon Boykin and former Police Chief Tony Carleton are out of a wrongful death lawsuit the Ricky Ball family filed in 2016 after the fatal officer-involved shooting.
A pair of motions, filed by the plaintiff in the case, seek to dismiss Boykin and Carleton with prejudice from the case, meaning Boykin and Carleton cannot be sued for the same matter again.
Katherine Kerby, attorney for Carleton and the city of Columbus, says a settlement is in negotiations with representatives of the Ball family.
Memphis attorney Andrew Clarke is representing Paul N. Royal, another Memphis attorney in whose name the suit was filed on behalf of the Ball family. Clarke filed the wrongful death suit against Boykin, Carleton, the city of Columbus and several CPD officers in September 2016.
Boykin shot and killed Ball on Oct. 16, 2015, after Ball fled a traffic stop in north Columbus. Ball was a passenger in the vehicle stopped. He was shot twice and a 9mm handgun was found near his body.
Royal’s suit accuses Boykin of wrongly shooting and killing Ball.
The suit also accused Carleton, the former police chief who resigned shortly after the Ball shooting, of failing to properly train CPD officers and correct deficiencies which might have prevented the shooting.
The motions for dismissal were filed late Wednesday afternoon, according to Jackson attorney Jeffrey Reynolds, who is representing Boykin. Reynolds said the motion to dismiss Boykin was waiting on a signature from U.S. District Court Judge Glen H. Davidson. However, he said the motion is unopposed, and the signing of the order is a “perfunctory” matter.
“Officer Boykin and I are pleased that the plaintiff elected to dismiss this case against him,” Reynolds said. “Officer Boykin did nothing wrong and we hope the state will follow suit and dismiss the indictment against Officer Boykin as we have already asked the court to do.”
A Lowndes County grand jury indicted Boykin for manslaughter in September 2016. Reynolds said he’s submitted a request to dismiss that indictment against Boykin. That matter will be heard in Lowndes County Circuit Court on Nov. 1.
Kerby said the motion to dismiss Carleton from the case is likewise unopposed.
“The plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss Chief Carleton as an individual defendant,” Kerby said. “We do not oppose it and we’re glad to see it.”
As for the city’s part in the case, Kerby stopped short of saying a settlement has been reached. However, she said she expected a motion to dismiss the city in the near future.
“It is my expectation there will soon be another motion filed to have the case dismissed by agreement of the plaintiff and the city of Columbus,” Kerby said. “This is still in motion. At this point in time, I’m not yet at liberty to speak further on it.”
Clarke did not return multiple calls for comment by press time Friday.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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