The manslaughter trial for former Columbus police officer Canyon Boykin is being continued.
A representative with the Walthall County Circuit Clerk’s Office in Tylertown told The Dispatch this morning the office received a request for a continuance on Thursday because of a medical emergency involving one of the attorneys on the case.
The trial was set to begin on Oct. 17. A new date has not been scheduled.
Boykin shot dead 26-year-old Ricky Ball on Oct. 16, 2015, after Ball fled a traffic stop in north Columbus. Authorities found a 9mm handgun near Ball’s body, and Boykin has claimed he shot Ball in self-defense.
A Lowndes County grand jury indicted Boykin in July 2016. This May, Circuit Judge Lee Coleman granted a change of venue for the case to Walthall County, citing potential difficulty with seating an unbiased jury locally because of intense media coverage.
Columbus City Council fired Boykin shortly after the incident for violating several police department policies — including not activating his body camera before or during the incident, making disparaging social media posts toward African Americans, women and disabled people in the aftermath of the shooting, and having his then-girlfriend as an unauthorized passenger in his patrol unit the night of the shooting.
Boykin later filed a wrongful termination suit against the city in federal court. The parties settled that suit earlier this month.
The Ricky Ball estate is also suing Boykin in federal court for wrongful death.
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