Hospital police suspended after drunk man they released was run over on a highway
Published 7:54 pm Monday, June 24, 2019
Two hospital police officers are suspended after releasing a man later killed in highway traffic.
WAPT-TV reports University of Mississippi Medical Center has removed officers Taafe McGruder and Justin Harper from duty while the June 18 death of 26-year Jaylion Jim is investigated.
Jackson police, also investigating, say Jim was killed by a vehicle on Mississippi 18.
Hospital police arrested Jim for public intoxication and trespassing. He was taken to the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond, but county officials refused to jail him because Jim was charged only with misdemeanors.
Video at a nearby convenience store shows officers releasing a half-naked Jim. Clerk Ann White says she saw Jim naked, running around, and lying in the parking lot.
Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart says she’s awaiting toxicology tests.