Phenix City police officer placed on leave following deadly shooting

A Phenix City police officer was placed on administrative leave after a 27-year-old suspect was shot and killed Sunday morning at 12th Place and 11th Avenue, authorities confirmed.

Chief Ray Smith said the officer, whose name he declined to release, will remain on leave until the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation has completed its investigation into the incident and the case has been reviewed by a grand jury. Placing the officer on leave is a part of the department’s standard procedure.

“The main thing is to let the public know that as a police department, we are not able to comment on the course of the investigation because we, in fact, are not conducting that investigation,” Smith said Monday afternoon during a news conference.

Officials said Cedric Jamal Mifflin of Columbus was shot multiple times around 4:52 p.m. Sunday during a pursuit near Ed’s Country Cooking.

He was pronounced dead at the Midtown Medical Center, said Russell County Coroner Arthur Sumbry Jr. His body was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy.

Smith declined to comment further on the incident, but he confirmed that there is video and audio evidence of it.

“The Phenix City Police Department is in the process of turning over all evidence, video audio recordings and other records to the ALEA SBI,” he said.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Phenix City police officer placed on leave following deadly shooting."