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Former Capitol Police officers testify in the Jaylen Lewis manslaughter trial

Jackson, MississippiPublished 27 Sep 2026

The Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson.
The Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson.

Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Michael Rhinewalt and Steven Frederick told a Hinds County jury they shot Jaylen Lewis in self-defense during a 2022 stop in Jackson.

Former Capitol Police officers Michael Rhinewalt and Steven Frederick are on trial in Jackson for manslaughter in the Sept. 25, 2022 shooting of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis. On Friday, the third day of testimony, both said Lewis drove toward them after they boxed in his Jeep. Outlets differ on whether the stop was a chase, which officer fired the fatal shot, and which window Frederick fired into.

Shared facts

Michael Rhinewalt and Steven Frederick, former Capitol Police officers, are on trial for manslaughter in the 2022 shooting death of Jaylen Lewis.

On Sept. 25, 2022, officers fired into Jaylen Lewis's Jeep and killed the 25-year-old.

Lewis ran red lights before officers stopped the Jeep.

Officers said the Jeep matched a vehicle suspected in break-ins.

Rhinewalt and Frederick were on the Capitol Police Flex Unit.

Lewis backed the Jeep into a police vehicle.

The officers said they ordered Lewis to stop and show his hands.

Rhinewalt said he thought Lewis had a gun and warned Frederick.

A woman in the Jeep screamed for Lewis to stop.

Rhinewalt said Lewis had room to turn left but drove toward the officers.

Rhinewalt said Lewis made eye contact, cursed, and accelerated.

The officers said they feared for their lives.

Rhinewalt said he fired three rounds.

Rhinewalt said the Jeep lifted him off the ground and he rolled or lost his balance.

Rhinewalt admitted that details in his Friday testimony were not in his earlier recorded account.

Rhinewalt and Frederick took the stand Friday.

Friday was the third day of testimony.

The trial resumes Monday for jury instructions, closing arguments, and deliberations.

Disputed facts

Sources disagree on whether Lewis led Capitol Police on a chase or was boxed in after running red lights.

Sources disagree on whether the officers drew their guns when Lewis shifted into reverse or only after the Jeep struck a police car.

Sources disagree on whether Rhinewalt fired the shot that killed Lewis or it is unclear which officer fired it.

Sources disagree on whether Frederick fired into the side window, the driver's window, or the front windshield.

Mississippi Today

Former Capitol Police officers testify in their manslaughter trial

Jerry Mitchell

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 26 Sep 2026

Facts

Two former Capitol Police officers faced cross-examination Friday on their claim that they were forced to shoot a Jackson man in self-defense after he tried to run them over.

Judge Faye Peterson said she would instruct the jury to treat the recorded statements as self-serving hearsay because there was no cross-examination under oath.

Defense lawyers had not planned to call the officers because prosecutors had already played their recorded statements about why they shot Jaylen Lewis.

Friday was the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 25, 2022 shooting.

Putting the officers on the witness stand meant they could be cross-examined.

Rhinewalt said he thought of his wife and children.

Frederick testified that he parked his Capitol Police car at a 45-degree angle in front of Jaylen Lewis's Cherokee.

Asked what the vest patch “No Quarter” meant, Frederick said he did not know.

Luke Williamson asked Frederick about the vest Frederick wore that night.

Frederick compared the sound of the 707-horsepower engine to a NASCAR engine.

Frederick said he had a 2-year-old son.

Frederick said an Army friend gave him the vest.

Mississippi Today reported that Merriam-Webster says no quarter means no pity or mercy.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

WLBT

Former Capitol Police officers take stand in fatal 2022 shooting trial

C.J. LeMaster and Kristina Baca

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 26 Sep 2026

Facts

Officers followed Jaylen Lewis in unmarked vehicles without their lights activated.

Rhinewalt said he believed Jaylen Lewis's car could outrun the officers' unmarked SUVs.

Frederick said he saw Jaylen Lewis fidgeting before Lewis backed into the unmarked police vehicle.

Luke Williamson asked how officers were boxing Jaylen Lewis in if Lewis could drive away to the left.

Frederick's attorney Boty McDonald demonstrated where the two officers were in relation to the vehicle.

Opinion

Frederick's account appeared to contradict Rhinewalt's sequence of events.

WAPT

Former Capitol Police officers say they feared for their lives as they opened fire on Jaylen Lewis

Ross Adams

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 26 Sep 2026

Facts

Rhinewalt said he and Frederick were at a red light when a white Jeep Cherokee pulled up next to them.

Rhinewalt said the light turned green and the Jeep took off.

Rhinewalt said Jackson then had one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation.

Rhinewalt said that after the red lights, officers would not have had probable cause to stop the Jeep.

Rhinewalt said Jaylen Lewis was slumped over and had been hit.

Rhinewalt said he would have been run over if he had not fired.

Rhinewalt said it all happened in a matter of seconds.

Rhinewalt said he gave Jaylen Lewis first aid.

Rhinewalt said everything slowed down at that moment.

Rhinewalt said he and Frederick went toward the car with guns drawn.

Rhinewalt said two other officers helped Selena Hayes out of the vehicle and away from the scene.

Frederick said he and Rhinewalt fired at the same time.

Defense attorneys asked Judge Faye Peterson for a directed verdict.

Frederick said he heard what sounded like a collision.

If convicted, Rhinewalt and Frederick face up to 20 years in prison.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

WJTV

Former Capitol police officers accused of killing Jaylen Lewis testify

WJTV Staff

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 26 Sep 2026

Facts

The state and the defense rested on September 25, 2026.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said the incident began as a traffic stop.

Kevin Swinney testified that Jaylen Lewis had ways around the officers.

The indictment says Frederick and Rhinewalt, without authority of law and not in necessary self-defense, shot and killed Jaylen Lewis.

The jury heard from a state medical examiner on Thursday.

Opinion

No opinion marked.