Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert, a 37-year-old father of five, was shot four times by Tupelo police officer Tyler Cook in June of 2016, after being viciously mauled by a police dog. After surviving being shot 4 times and having his testicles mutilated along with having deep claw marks on his back and large bite marks on his groin. 5 hours later he was pronounced dead in the hospital. 

Authorities have not said why Shumpert was stopped but have said he was subject to an outstanding felony warrant. Lawyers argue, however, that Shumpert was illegally stopped for “driving while black” and say Shumpert was not driving a car registered in his name and was not asked for identification before he fled.

Shumpert fled from police officers before attempting to voluntarily surrender but was then attacked by the dog. The city has a history of allegations of widespread racism and discrimination against black residents. In 2006, concerns raised by the local NAACP spawned a “cultural diversity assessment” of city departments, which found a pattern of widespread racial profiling. 

Mississippi is 12th in country in terms of per capita police killings in 2016, up from 19th in 2015. Antwun and his family deserves justice and that is why I am asking everybody to please sign this petition!