STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — The Starkville Police Department has hired a former Columbus officer who is a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Commercial Dispatch reports Garrett Mittan was introduced as a new Starkville officer during a Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday. That was one day after Mittan voluntarily left his job at Columbus Police Department.
Mittan is named in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the son of Ricky Ball, a 26-year-old black man shot to death in 2015 by another white former Columbus police officer, Canyon Boykin.
Boykin has pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge. He has said he shot Ball after Ball pointed a gun at him.
The civil lawsuit claims a gun belonging to Mittan was planted near Ball's body. Mittan has not been indicted.
Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Support our reporting -- Follow the MFP.
