Video: Former Columbus Officer Indicted, Legal Process Just Beginning

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Former Columbus police officer Canyon Boykin is free on bond.

Friday, he was served a manslaughter indictment.

Boykin is charged in connection with the shooting death of Ricky Ball after a traffic stop last October.

Judge Jim Kitchens set bail in an arraignment hearing at the Lowndes County Courthouse Friday morning.

Boykin was indicted on Wednesday.

Canyon Boykin walks out of the Lowndes County Courthouse to cheers of support, and chants of not guilty.

Circuit Court Judge Jim Kitchens set Boykin’s bond at $20,000 thousand on Friday morning.

A short time later, he was released on bond after being booked in the Lowndes County jail.

Boykin’s attorney, Jim Waide, declined to comment on the case.

Court documents say Ricky Ball was shot shortly after running away from a traffic stop on October 16, 2015.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigated the shooting, but its findings have not been made public.

District Attorney Scott Colom asked that a special prosecutor from the Attorney General’s office take over the case and present it to a Lowndes County grand jury.

Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement Friday, saying, in part, quote, “The Lowndes County Grand Jury has given me my marching orders as a prosecutor. It is my duty to carry out those orders and present the case to a Lowndes County Circuit Court Jury at trial.”

Hood went on to say, “Our police officers put their lives on the line for us every day. We owe it to them and to our citizens to see that the highest standards of conduct are always met.”

Boykin’s trial is officially set for November 28th; however, historically, trials do not always go to a jury during the first term of court after an indictment.

Legal experts also tell WCBI they expect a number of motions to be filed in this case, including a possible change of venue motion. If that is granted, the case could be moved out of Lowndes County, but it’s too early yet to know if that will happen.

Boykin was on the force for three years before being fired after the shooting.

His civil lawsuit against the city of Columbus has been put on hold while the criminal process continues.

The Ball family has also filed intent to sue the city of Columbus.