What official records exist for shootings involving people named Jenkins in U.S. police and court databases?
Executive summary
News and court reporting show a patchwork of official records—police incident reports, arrest and indictment records, court filings (motions, affidavits, dockets) and federal investigatory documents—connected to multiple shootings involving people named “Jenkins” across U.S. jurisdictions; those records are publicly cited in local and national reporting but are not aggregated into a single national database in the sources reviewed [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. The available documents reveal a range of circumstances from defendants indicted for homicide to police shootings that prompted civil suits and federal probes, while in several episodes reporters note gaps such as missing body‑camera footage or unredacted records [3] [5].
1. Court indictments and criminal convictions: concrete docket entries exist in local reporting
Local outlets cite formal indictments and prior convictions for persons named Jenkins: Pooler reporting says Christopher Jenkins was indicted for the November killing of his wife and that court records show a prior 1999 homicide conviction [1], and Arkansas reporting notes Will Jenkins faces criminal charges including aggravated assault and being a felon in possession after a shooting and standoff [7]. These stories rely on prosecutorial filings and booking records that are standard entries in county court dockets and sheriff’s booking logs [1] [7].
2. Police shootings that generated civil litigation and motions: court filings visible in news coverage
The Des Moines case involving 16‑year‑old Trevontay (Trevontay/Trevontay) Jenkins produced a wrongful‑death lawsuit and motions asserting qualified immunity by the city, which are explicitly reported as court filings seeking dismissal and invoking caselaw standards [2] [6]. Those filings and the attorney general’s prior ruling that a shooting was justified are the sort of official records—complaints, motions, AG determinations—available in court or public records referenced by reporters [2] [6].
3. Police internal records, evidence logs and federal investigatory files in misconduct cases
The Mississippi “Goon Squad” episodes involving Michael Corey Jenkins are documented in police and court records obtained by AP reporting and later in federal indictments and pleas; those records include incident reports, stun‑gun usage logs, hospital records and allegations of evidence tampering that prompted a DOJ civil‑rights inquiry and federal charges against deputies [3] [4] [5] [8]. Reporting highlights that those official files show repeated Taser activations and internal reports but also notes the absence of body‑camera footage in state law contexts, a material gap in the record [3] [5].
4. Arrest affidavits, police narratives and local court dockets for officer‑involved shootings
In other local shootings involving people named Jenkins, reporters cite arrest affidavits and court dockets: Chattanooga coverage names Mykel Dexter Jenkins and references arrest affidavits and sheriff’s office statements about the shooting [9], and a Hamilton County sessions docket demonstrates how court dockets routinely record encounters involving officers with the surname Jenkins in administrative roles [10]. These are standard law‑enforcement and court records that underpin the press accounts [9] [10].
5. Limitations, competing narratives and possible agendas in the records cited
The records cited in news coverage often present competing narratives and institutional interests: municipal filings assert officers’ actions were lawful and invoke qualified immunity (Des Moines) while families’ complaints allege excessive force and factual disputes [2]; federal prosecutors pursued charges against deputies in Mississippi amid allegations officers covered up evidence, and media reporting relied on unsealed court documents that the sheriff later cited as revealing misconduct [4] [8]. Reporters also flag gaps—missing bodycam or unredacted sections—that limit definitive public reconstruction and may reflect local policies or intentional withholding [3] [5].
6. What can be concluded from these sources about “official records” overall
From the assembled reporting, official records tied to shootings involving people named Jenkins exist in multiple forms—indictments and convictions, police incident reports, arrest affidavits, civil‑suit filings and federal investigatory and prosecutorial records—and those records are cited directly by local and national outlets [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. However, the sources do not provide a single searchable national compilation; instead they point to discrete court and police files in county, state and federal systems, with some records incomplete or redacted in public reporting [3] [5].