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Jackson Public Schools officer alleges unlawful arrest and shakedown by Lexington’s ex-top cop

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1 year ago

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Lexington’s former police chief, the department’s members and the city are facing a second lawsuit, this time for the alleged unlawful arrest and jailing of a Jackson Public Schools officer in 2021.

Javarius Russell, who was attending a New Year’s Eve celebration, accuses former chief Sam Dobbins and other defendants of arresting him for crashing a four-wheeler all-terrain vehicle into a police vehicle, which he said didn’t happen and in his complaint filed Monday called a “pure fabrication.” As he was in Dobbins’ police car, another officer told the chief that Russell didn’t cause damage to the car, but he was still arrested, according to the lawsuit.

Russell was jailed over the long weekend, and during that period Dobbins allegedly told Russell and another man who attended the gathering that in exchange for $2,700 in cash, Dobbins would drop their charges and let them go, according to the lawsuit. Dobbins also allegedly spoke with Russell’s family and told members about the deal.

“Mr. Russell did nothing wrong; he is just one victim of the blatant misconduct and brutality perpetrated by the Lexington Police Department,” Joshua Tom, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, said in a statement. “The actions of these officers represent a clear danger to the Lexington community, and they, along with the City of Lexington, must be held accountable.”

City officials will have 21 days to respond to the lawsuit, which is one side of a legal argument.

Lexington is 86% Black and attorneys say they have long suffered under the department’s racially motivated and discriminatory policing practices, according to the ACLU.

Dobbins was fired last year after an audio recording surfaced of him using racial slurs, bragging about killing 13 people during his law enforcement career and shooting a man over 100 times.

Civil rights organization JULIAN filed the first lawsuit last summer on behalf of five Black residents who accused Dobbins and officers of retaliation, unlawful arrest and other mistreatment. Attorney Jill Collen Jefferson asked for a restraining order against the police department to prevent it from mistreating Black residents, but that order was denied in September.  

Attorney Malik Shabazz of Washington D.C.-based Black Lawyers for Justice came to Lexington last summer to meet with residents and call for charges for Dobbins and a review of the police department and its operation under him. 

As a result of his unlawful detention, Russell suffered mental and emotional distress, including “severe anxiety connected to those in law enforcement positions, even though he himself is a law enforcement officer,” the lawsuit states.

Lexington police did not return his employer-issued firearm until his release, and Russell has been blocked from using his firearm for his job, according to the complaint. He also suffered financial harm from loss of wages when he had to take time off work to recover.

The ACLU of Missisisppi is asking for a judge to award damages and declare that the defendants violated Russell’s constitutional and civil rights.

Attorneys request that the police department and city be enjoined from interfering with the rights of anyone in their custody, soliciting cash payments from jail detainees and telling people in custody that they can have charges dropped for doing something for the police.

They also want the federal court to oversee implementation of police and city policies and training to prevent unlawful acts from happening again and for an independent special monitor to be appointed to oversee progress, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is part of a new ACLU of Mississippi initiative to work with law firms, private attorneys and community organizations to file lawsuits to address unconstitutional police misconduct and violence.

“The more individual civil actions we bring, the more we hold police accountable,” Executive Director Jarvis Dortch said in a statement. “Unfortunately, there are far too many Javarius Russell’s, and it often feels like the issue of police violence is overwhelming.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi College will change its name and drop its football program

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12 hours ago

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November 18, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Associated Press – 2024-11-18 17:42:00

Mississippi College will change its name and drop its football program after the current season, the board of the private institution announced Monday.

The college, in the Jackson suburb of Clinton, will become Mississippi Christian University beginning with its bicentennial in 2026. It said in an announcement that the new name emphasizes the school’s status as a comprehensive university while keeping the MC logo and identity.

“These transformational and necessary changes are extremely important to the future of this institution,” Mississippi College President Blake Thompson said. “As we look ahead to the institution’s bicentennial in 2026, we want to ensure that MC will be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ for another 200 years.”

Mississippi College sports teams compete in NCAA Division II. The college will have 17 sports after football is discontinued.

“As we consider the changing landscape of college football, the increasing influence of the NIL and transfer portal, as well as increasing costs to operate and travel, we felt it was necessary to focus our efforts on building first-class programs that can compete for championships,” MC Athletic Director Kenny Bizot said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Doctors group asks state Supreme Court to clarify that abortions are illegal in Mississippi

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14 hours ago

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November 18, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-11-18 14:27:00

A group of anti-abortion doctors is asking the state Supreme Court to reverse its earlier ruling stating that the right to an abortion is guaranteed by the Mississippi Constitution.

The original 1998 Supreme Court ruling that provides the right to an abortion for Mississippians conflicts with state law that bans most abortions in Mississippi.

The appeal to the Supreme Court comes after an earlier ruling by Hinds County Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin, who found the group of conservative physicians did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.

Mississippi members of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists argued that they could be punished for not helping a patient find access to an abortion since the earlier state Supreme Court ruling said Mississippians had a right to abortion under the state Constitution. But the Hinds County chancellor said they did not have standing because they could not prove any harm to them because of their anti abortion stance.

Attorney Aaron Rice, representing the doctors, said after the October ruling by Wise Martin that he intended to ask the state Supreme Court to rule on the case.

It was a Mississippi case that led to the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed since the early 1970s a national right to an abortion.

Mississippi had laws in place to ban most abortions once Roe v. Wade was overturned, But there also was the 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that provided the right to an abortion.

Despite that ruling, there are currently no abortion clinics in Mississippi. But in the lawsuit, the conservative physicians group pointed out the ambiguity of the issue since in normal legal proceedings a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of an issue would trump state law.

But in her ruling, Wise Martin pointed out that the state Supreme Court in multiple recent high-profile rulings has limited standing or who has the ability to file a lawsuit. Wise Martin said testimony on the issue revealed that physicians had not been punished in Mississippi for refusing to perform abortions.

Both the state and a pro abortion rights group argued that the physicians did not have standing to pursue the lawsuit. The state also contends that existing law makes it clear that most abortions are banned in Mississippi.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Podcast: A critical Mississippi Supreme Court runoff

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22 hours ago

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November 18, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance – 2024-11-18 06:30:00

Voters will choose between Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens and state Sen. Jenifer Branning in a runoff election on Nov. 26, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Mississippi Today’s Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison, and Taylor Vance break down the race and discuss why the election is so important for the future of the court and policy in Mississippi.

READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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