As of yesterday, December 30, 2015, the people of Columbus, MS are once again paying the salaries of two of the cops involved in the death of Ricky Ball.
Yolanda Young and Johnny Branch, who may have killed Ricky Ball, are back working for the Columbus Police Department as of yesterday thanks to a recommendation by Interim Chief Fred Shelton and a majority vote of the city council.  
It appears that the main problem for the city council is the fact that the policies for body camera violations from the police department were not strong enough and detailed enough in the eyes of some council members to justify the punishments handed down to Young and Branch collectively.  The policy that existed at the time that Young and Branch were disciplined clearly states that one of the available punishments is termination, but a majority of the city council decided on the softer punishment of suspension in the beginning.  After learning that Young, Branch and Canyon Boykin were appealing their punishments; it appears the city council started to backtrack on their original decision.
First of all, the city council should have considered the fact that one or more of these cops is responsible for the death of Ricky Ball...and they may have murdered Ricky.  This is what the known facts of this case suggests even WITHOUT a completed MBI investigation.  The 30 day suspension, instead of an indefinite suspension, was one of the first mistakes made by the Columbus city council concerning this case.
For all that we know, one of these cops or all of them could be murderers!  Without a completed investigation from the MBI, no one can say for certain which one or more of these officers killed Ricky Ball!  At a minimum, none of the people on the scene the night Ricky Ball was allowed to bleed to death should be working for our city because any of them could be murderers or accessories to murder.  Until the MBI investigation is complete, no one who may have killed a Citizen of this city should be receiving a salary from this city.  Period!!!  It appears that a majority of our city "leaders" DO NOT, CANNOT or WILL NOT understand this fact!
If Yolanda Young and her gang want to say that no other officers have been punished like them, that argument is without merit and irrelevant due to the fact that there is no prior case for Boykin, Young and Branch to compare their punishments against.  No other officers have been suspended or fired because they did not follow the body camera/audio recorder policy when a Citizen was possibly murdered by them.  The case against Canyon Boykin, Yolanda Young and Johnny Branch is UNPRECEDENTED!!!  There is no case like this at the Columbus Police Department (CPD) for them to rely on for precedent.  Anyone vaguely familiar with the correct use of precedent, including the City Attorney for Columbus, ought to know that a case must be "on all fours" with an earlier case in order to use the earlier case as precedent.  The case against Boykin, Young and Branch has never happened before in Columbus.  Since the CPD started the use of body cameras and established recording policies, before Ricky Ball was killed, no other person had been killed in Columbus, MS by police officers without video or audio footage available because of policy violations from the officers involved.  Our city attorney, mayor and city council members have to consider this fact if they intend to ensure real justice for Ricky Ball and to regain the trust of our community.
Also, the punishments for Yolanda Young and Johnny Branch should be separate and not be considered together.  Although they were part of the same group, the SOG, Young and Branch did not have the same roles within the group.  They each have different levels of culpability in this case.  Branch did use his camera some of the times that were shown in the SOG video review, but Yolanda Young did not even wear her recording equipment, let alone turn it on.  In addition to these facts, Yolanda Young was the supervisor of the SOG group, so she has a "leadership-role" level of guiltiness as well.  A majority of our city "leaders" did not want to acknowledge these facts about Young in order to separate her case from Branch's case when it comes to disciplining the two of them.
When we consider the facts that Yolanda Young is more guilty for her recording equipment violations because of her supervisory role in the SOG gang along with the facts that she has repeatedly taunted one of Ricky Ball's relatives at the relative's job; there is no doubt that Yolanda Young does not have the qualifications to be a police officer in the city of Columbus, MS.  ANYONE who supports Young staying on our police force is clearly exposing themselves as being incompetent when it comes to making leadership decisions. #iamrickyball #justiceforrickyball

Ricky Ball will NEVER hold his daughter again!!! This is the point of reference we must start from to deal with every person involved in his death! Including; but not limited to, Canyon Boykin, Yolanda Young and Johnny Branch.  These three incompetent criminals actually have the nerve to ask for their jobs back, as if they have done nothing wrong.  We will outline here what we know they have done wrong, even without the MBI investigation report.
​
A. Canyon Boykin: He has been telling more lies than the law should allow. In this case he has literally been obstructing justice from day one! (1) He was seen threatening Ricky the week before he killed Ricky.  (2) He lied like he stopped the car that Ricky was riding in for careless driving and some other mess, when he was really stopping the car because a narc agent told him to stop the car BECAUSE Ricky was in the car.  So if he (and his former police chief) started off lying to the public, then what else is he/they lying about?--a lot-- (3) He lied like he tased Ricky before he started shooting at Ricky, but that was impossible.  The company that makes the TASER product for law enforcement advertises an effective range of 15ft. That's about 5 steps for the average person.  Everyone that knows Ricky Ball knows that Ricky was lightning fast!  Witnesses say that Ricky was out of the car and running before Boykin even opened his car door. There is no way Boykin ever got within 5 steps of Ricky until AFTER he had shot Ricky!  (4) On top of this lie, Boykin said he knocked Ricky down with a TASER, but like a machine, Ricky supposedly got up while having electricity running through him and had the strength to start running again, oh yeah, and decided to just point a gun at Boykin, but not shoot Boykin (who does that??)...before we even get into why this is scientifically impossible; we are going to point out the obvious...Boykin wants you to believe that all of this happened WITHIN 10 SECONDS!  His former police chief has already said at the Oct. 20 city council meeting that one of the three officers radioed that shots had been fired 10 seconds after the initial traffic stop.  So, when you take off the seconds it took just to talk, let alone get out of the car, Boykin wants you to believe he chased Ricky, tased Ricky, but Ricky somehow recovered from the TASER, started running again, then supposedly pointed a gun at Boykin...ALL WITHIN 3 SECONDS!!!  Canyon Boykin should already be in jail based on these facts ALONE!  Also, the TASER company says the TASER breaks the communication between the brain and the muscles and that it takes SEVERAL MINUTES for a person to recover from a TASER shot.  According to the company who makes the TASER, it was scientifically impossible for things to happen the way Boykin said they happened.  Surely, we are not the only people who are aware of this fact. (5) When Boykin did finally turn on his recording equipment, he is on camera saying that some man that he does not know pointed a gun at him before he started shooting...Now, how do you NOT know who someone is when you threatened them a week before and was told a few minutes earlier by a narcotics agent to stop this person???  The Real question is why is Canyon Boykin not locked up somewhere already?

B. Yolanda Young: Besides the fact that she has been going onto Ricky Ball's family members jobs harassing them, Yolanda Young has had enough recording equipment violations in the one week that Ricky Ball was killed to have been fired several times.  For several days, she did not even wear a body camera and audio recorder!  CPD policy clears states that audio recording equipment should be used BEFORE engaging the public. Also, The policy does not say you have to work your way up to more severe punishment.  Having someone killed on your watch and there be no recordings of what happened because you and your gang CHOSE not to follow police policy is as good a reason as any to fire Yolanda Young without a doubt.  Termination was an available option for the city council when Young was first disciplined, but the council decided to be spare her.  Why?

C. Johnny Branch: Branch is probably the least guilty of this gang, but he is guilty just the same.  He, along with Boykin and Young, had several recording equipment violations on the day that Ricky Ball was killed as well.  His failure to follow recording equipment policy also ensured that no immediated proof would exists to contradict Boykin's lies.  He also said nothing about the lies that were being told about why the car that Ricky was in was really stopped.  He could have also made sure that Ricky was taken to the hospital right away, instead of allowing Ricky to lay on the ground forever and in the back of the ambulance as police entered and exited the ambulance waiting on Ricky to die.  If he would have arrested or even attempted everyone that was there ensuring that Ricky bled out, then we could say spare him.  But, since he wants to ride with his team they all should suffer the same fate.  TERMINATION AND PRISON!

This is just part of what we mean when we say Justice For Ricky Ball.  Ricky was somebody's son, somebody's brother and somebody's friend.  This post is proof enough that Canyon Boykin, Yolanda Young and Johnny Branch, along with their former police chief, Tony Carleton, should have been fired, at minimum, the next day after Ricky Ball was killed.  

Please leave your comments and share our blog.  We have got to keep these persons from returning to our police department at the end of their suspension on Jan. 5, 2015.  The city council is meeting today 12/30/15 to talk about giving them more slaps on the wrists.  Let's make sure that our city council understands the time is over for slaps on the wrists.  It is time for them to execute JUSTICE FOR RICKY BALL AND HIS CHILD!!!  #iamrickyball #justiceforrickyball

Lady Justice as used on our Facebook page's profile picture is an icon long associated with the fair/equitable execution of the law of the land. She wears a blindfold to show that she will not prejudice the scales of justice because of what you look like or who you appear to be. She will hear the facts and if your facts are outweighed by more substantial facts according to the law, then the heat of her sword's blade is your punishment because justice is, essentially, the proper execution of the law.
​The Raised Fist has long been a symbol of solidarity and support. It also expresses strength and defiance in the face of an oppressive condition. We specifically use the raised fiery fist on our website because fire is a purifying element and a symbol of will power.
On the night that Ricky Ball was killed more justice could have been executed by the Police Chief and senior city officials who knew the details available on the night of October 16, ​2015. Canyon Boykin, believed to be the shooter, reported that he shot Ricky Ball after Ricky pointed a gun at him, so Ricky would have been shot from the front if that was the truth. First, who just points a gun at someone like a police officer when they know the officer is going to try to kill them for such an act? Secondly, Ricky was shot from behind according to the coroner's report. This fact shows that Ricky was not facing Boykin when Boykin shot him. Tony Carleton, the former Chief of Police in Columbus, MS, has trained with the FBI, a federal agency known for training investigators on an expert's level. Normally, after hearing that you shot someone from behind, an expert investigator would naturally know that you were not facing the person that you shot. This is why Tony Carleton should have been on the scene to arrest Boykin for murder that night. If a non-uniform person told a law enforcement investigator that he shot someone in the back because the person was pointing a gun at him, that non-uniform person would not be allowed to leave the custody of that investigating official without posting bond for murder charges. This is what should have happened to Canyon Boykin the night he killed Ricky Ball if Tony Carleton was interested in executing Justice in his official capacity as the Chief law enforcement official of the city. Instead, Tony Carleton worked the crime scene over the phone and never came to the crime scene, a very uncustomary move from a police chief, even though he was reportedly in the city that night.
Our aim is for the national and state laws related to murder, conspiracy to murder and crime cover-ups to be properly executed against all persons involved in the death of Ricky Ball.
We, the People of Columbus, MS have united our combined strengths to ensure justice is served in honor of Ricky Ball's life. We fully understand the political climate of the day related to punishing officers properly when they have abused the use of deadly force. It is going to take a fiery will from the people and judicial officials to overcome the complacency in the justice system when it comes to punishing police officers who act unlawfully. We can see why prosecutors and legislators have been reluctant to provide an appropriate legal matrix to properly punish outlaw law enforcement persons. Legislators and prosecutors depend on law enforcement persons for revenue and strength. Nonetheless, the gun and badge give a person an extremely high level of power. What should also come with that high level of power is a high level of punishment and accountability when the power of the gun and badge is abused by any officer. Good police officers are always appreciated and are a necessary element of governments around the nation; however, criminally-minded persons using the gun and badge to commit murder are a national security threat that creates instability in any civilized government and society. #justiceforrickyball