Nationwide — Kaychia Bell, an African American mom from Leland, Mississippi, is still seeking answers more than a year after her 17-year-old son, Kadarius Smith, was run over and killed by a Leland Police Department cruiser. She says officials have withheld key reports and ignored her demands for accountability.
On August 21, Bell, her sister Latoya Combs, and supporters held a press conference outside the Thad Cochran U.S. Courthouse in Jackson. They called for the officer involved to be fired from his current job and demanded full transparency from officials.
Bell said she has asked repeatedly for the police report and investigative reconstruction report, but has received nothing. “What is it going to take? What is it going to take? All I want to know is the truth about my son,” she said, according to the Clarion Ledger. For her, every day without answers deepens the pain of losing him.
Combs, Smith’s aunt, described him as a brother, uncle, and friend who dreamed of moving to Atlanta to become a realtor for celebrities. “We demand transparency, accountability, and justice. Today, we honor Kadarius. We will not let his name be forgotten. We will not let his memory fade,” she said.
Smith died on March 21, 2024. An autopsy revealed he suffered severe blunt force trauma, including massive head injuries. At the time, he was a high school junior. By May 2025, he should have graduated, but instead, Bell walked the stage in his place.
The officer who struck Smith has not been officially named. Bell and civil rights activist John C. Barnett claim the officer left the Leland Police Department and now works for the Greenville Public School District. Both are demanding his termination and prosecution.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Highway Patrol confirmed they turned the case over to the local district attorney in July 2024. Bell and Barnett say the DA declined the case because of a conflict of interest, transferring it to a judge. The family was never told which judge now has the case.
At the press conference, community leaders and civil rights advocates urged state and federal officials, including Gov. Tate Reeves and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, to step in. The family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, continues to represent them as they push for accountability.
For Bell, the fight is far from over. “I want them to charge that police officer. I want them to prosecute him to the fullest. I want him to feel the pain that I [me] and my family been feeling since March 21. That’s what I want. I haven’t even got an apology from him, the chief of Leland. I hadn’t even got an apology from nobody,” she said.
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