In the winter of 1965, a young, 18-year-old Black man named Ollie Shelby, Jr. was killed in Jackson, Mississippi. His death occurred on January 22nd inside the Hinds County Jail, just after he had been transferred from the city jail. The initial charge against him was for allegedly making an obscene gesture toward a white woman. The events that transpired within the jail, leading to his death, were recounted by law enforcement officials present at the time.
According to the official account, while being moved, Shelby made an attempt to escape by pushing an officer out of the jail elevator. After this attempt was thwarted, it was reported that he then tried to take an officer's gun. Following this, Shelby was said to have run into a jailer's bedroom, where he allegedly attacked another jailer, throwing him to the floor and grappling for his empty gun holster. It was at this moment that Hinds County Sheriff's Department Deputy E.O. Sanderford fired three shots, with two striking and killing the young man.
In the immediate aftermath, a Coroner's Jury was convened to review the circumstances of the shooting. Based on the testimony provided by the officers involved, the jury quickly returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. Deputy Sanderford was not arrested or charged in connection with the shooting. The initial investigation by the FBI involved interviewing the officers at the jail, but the findings of that original inquiry are not a matter of public record.
The death of Ollie Shelby sparked outrage and protests within the Black community in Jackson. Leaders from the NAACP questioned the necessity of shooting the unarmed teenager three times and called for the suspension of the officers involved. In 2008, the FBI reopened the case to determine if a federal criminal civil rights violation had occurred. However, after reviewing the matter, the Department of Justice concluded that a prosecution was not possible. The primary reason for this decision was the death of Deputy E.O. Sanderford in 1968. With the main subject of the investigation deceased and the statute of limitations long expired, the case was officially closed in 2010, leaving the events of that day in 1965 to be understood only through the accounts of those present and the historical record.
