JACKSON — The contingent of a few dozen law enforcement officers remained in the courtroom Monday night after the acquittal of former Capitol Police officer Steven Frederick and the mistrial of fellow former Capitol officer Michael Rhinewalt.
There wasn’t any celebrating, but there were tears and hugs and emotional handshakes. At that point, Rhinewalt could have been looking at another trial, but both men were going home that night.
Bailiffs had asked the group to stay in the courtroom until the prosecution’s side had cleared out, but it appeared nobody came back for them. When the lights were cut out in the courtroom, the group took the hint and left.
Defense attorneys for Frederick and Rhinewalt, who were charged in the 2022 death of Jaylen Lewis, said afterward that the state had used a rarely seen legal theory to keep jurors from judging the men as police officers.
Lewis, 25, was fatally shot Sept. 25, 2022, after Capitol Police Flex Unit officers in unmarked cars stopped his Jeep for running a red light. The officers testified Lewis backed into a police car and then drove toward them. His passenger testified that he was trying to get away.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch released a statement a few hours later that her office will not retry Rhinewalt.
“In this case, we followed the process, leading to today’s jury verdict of not guilty for one officer and a hung jury for another,” Fitch said. “In the case of a tie, the benefit of the doubt goes to our law enforcement officers and we will not seek to retry this case. The men and women who wear the uniform have earned that.”
Scott Gilbert, Rhinewalt’s attorney, said the split verdict “speaks volumes about where this jury’s head was.”
The officers were charged under an imperfect self-defense theory, in which the state conceded they believed deadly force was necessary but argued that belief was unreasonable. Gilbert said that choice kept the jury from weighing the officers’ actions the way the law typically weighs police conduct.
“I think that the Attorney General’s office used a very, very, very unconventional theory here that really stripped away the ability of these officers to be judged as if they were police officers working in a police environment,” Gilbert said.
He said he believed the case was charged that way on purpose, to keep the officers from arguing their actions should be viewed from the perspective of trained police officers rather than lay people.
“That was certainly a calculated decision on the part of the state,” he said. “If you listen to the trial and watch the trial and listen to the evidence, there’s really not any disagreement about the facts and what happened.”
Gilbert also praised the jurors.
“It’s a heavy responsibility. They worked very, very hard,” he said. “I’ve always said the jury process truly does work.”
Merrida Coxwell, who represented Frederick, said he never understood why his client was charged. Frederick’s shot did not hit Lewis.
“I could never understand the state’s theory in this case as to both men, but especially as to Steven Frederick,” Coxwell said. “It made no sense whatsoever.”
Coxwell said the defense was confident it would win either an acquittal from the jury or a reversal on appeal.
“The jury did the absolute right thing,” he said. “We’re just happy the day is over, and it’s over in such a good manner.”
Boty McDonald, who also represented Frederick, said a conviction would have reached far beyond the two officers.
“I think the idea that you could be held criminally liable in a matter where you’ve made a lawful traffic stop, and you’re in an unmarked car, that would send chills all over the state,” McDonald said. “The reason we have trials is because things are unsettled. But in this case, it wasn’t just the facts, it was the law that was unsettled.”
