HINDS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – A Hinds County woman filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, accusing two Capitol police officers of excessive force after a traffic stop in August 2022.

Attorney Carlos Moore said Sherita Harris was in a vehicle that was stopped for running a red light. Soon afterwards, a chase ensued, and Harris suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

“I don’t have any memory of the incident. Oh, I don’t have any memory of much things right now. Just know the four days later that I woke up in the hospital. They told me they brought me back and that the police shot me, and I just know that for not only myself or my small children. I’d just never be the same,” said Harris.

Moore said the incident involved two officers, Jeffery Walker and Michael Rhinewalt, who were named in the suit. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Capitol Police Department were also named in the suit.

The attorney said his client’s civil rights were violated. He’s asking the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to look for any criminal offenses.

Moore said the incident is nothing short of aggravated assault. According to his investigation, he believes Rhinewalt shot Harris in the head.

“This trained officer shot into a moving vehicle near I-55 over near Fortification Street. Shot into a moving vehicle. Could clearly see who was in the vehicle, but there was more than one person. And yet, shot haphazardly into the vehicle, and shot an innocent person out over somebody fleeing a misdemeanor,” said Moore.

The attorney said he’s asked Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R-Miss.) to recuse herself from any further investigation of the case.

The suit is seeking $3 million in compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages.

WJTV 12 News reached out to the DPS for a comment on the lawsuit. We have not heard back as of December 20, 2023.