Sep 26, 2024 Story by: Editor
The Justice Department announced the findings of a thorough investigation today, revealing that the City of Lexington, Mississippi, and its Police Department (LPD) have engaged in practices that violate the constitutional rights of its residents. Lexington, a small town of about 1,200 people, is located approximately an hour from Jackson, Mississippi.
The investigation determined that the LPD unlawfully:
- Arrests, jails, and detains individuals unable to pay fines or fees without evaluating their ability to do so.
- Uses excessive force.
- Conducts stops, searches, and arrests without probable cause, including detaining individuals on unlawful “investigative holds” and arresting them solely for owing fines.
- Imposes money bail without proper justification or assessment of ability to pay.- Jails individuals without timely access to court proceedings.
- Violates the rights of individuals exercising free speech, often retaliating against those who voice criticism of the police.
- Discriminates against Black residents.
- Operates under a conflict of interest, as the LPD’s funding is reliant on revenue generated from law enforcement.
“Today’s findings show that the Lexington Police Department abandoned its sacred position of trust in the community by routinely violating the constitutional rights of those it was sworn to protect,” stated Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. He further emphasized, “Lexington’s approach to fines and fees — including unlawfully arresting, jailing, and detaining people based on their failure to pay money without assessing if they can afford to do so — has been devastating for its residents. Being poor is not a crime, but practices like these amount to punishing people for poverty. People in that community deserve better, and the Justice Department is committed to working with them, the City, and the Police Department to make the City safer for all its citizens.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco echoed these sentiments, stating, “Public safety depends on public confidence in our justice system. The Lexington Police Department’s incarceration of individuals because they could not afford to pay fines — as detailed in today’s findings report — undermined that confidence and violated the civil rights of Lexington residents.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke noted the severity of the situation, saying, “Lexington is a small, rural community, but its police department has had a heavy hand in people’s lives, wreaking havoc through use of excessive force, racially discriminatory policing, retaliation, and more. After an extensive review, we found that police officers in Lexington routinely make illegal arrests, use brutal and unnecessary force, and punish people for their poverty — including by jailing people who cannot afford to pay fines or money bail. For too long, the Lexington Police Department has been playing by its own rules and operating with impunity — it’s time for this to end.”
U.S. Attorney Todd Gee emphasized, “Police have the authority to enforce the law, not to act as debt collectors for the City, extracting payments from the poor with threats of jail. No matter how large or small, every police department has an obligation to follow the Constitution.”
The Justice Department’s findings indicated that over the past two years, LPD has made nearly one arrest for every four residents in Lexington, primarily for minor offenses and traffic violations. This rate is over ten times higher than the statewide per capita arrest rate for Mississippi. Many arrests were made for non-criminal behaviors, such as owing fines or using profanity, with Black residents being disproportionately affected — in 2023, they were 17.6 times more likely to be arrested by LPD than white residents.
The investigation also highlighted concerning police tactics. For example, LPD officers forcibly entered a home to arrest a Black man for swearing at a public official and chased another man for allegedly disturbing a business, using a taser multiple times.
In total, residents of Lexington owe more than $1.7 million in outstanding fines to the police department. The Justice Department’s investigation revealed a lack of accountability within the LPD and limited access to legal counsel for those facing charges, further perpetuating the cycle of misconduct.
The Justice Department initiated this investigation on November 8, 2023, with career attorneys and staff from the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. Their investigation included a review of hundreds of arrest reports, municipal court records, and body camera footage, along with interviews with local leaders and community members.
The City and the LPD cooperated throughout the investigation and have expressed a commitment to address the violations identified.
This investigation was conducted under 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which prohibits law enforcement from engaging in practices that infringe upon constitutional rights. The Justice Department aims to ensure constitutional policing and combat unlawful practices related to fines and fees, drawing parallels to past cases such as the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri. Source: Office of Public Affairs U.S. Department of Justice
