Police In A Small Mississippi Town Brutalized Its Black Population, Lawsuit Alleges

A lawsuit filed this week by Julian, a civil rights organization based in Mississippi, alleges that the city of Lexington, a predominantly Black rural town, and its police department have harassed and abused Black residents for years.

The Department of Justice launched a “pattern-or-practice investigation” into Lexington in November, examining the city and its police department. Such investigations look for persistent patterns of misconduct or evidence of discriminatory practices.

Julian also filed a federal lawsuit in 2022 against the city after its former police chief Sam Dobbins was caught on tape making several racist comments ― including bragging about shooting a Black suspect 119 times.

This week’s lawsuit alleges the city of Lexington was complicit because the mayor and other officials ignored the misconduct. It alleges that Dobbins threw out police citations against white residents while targeting, arresting, threatening and harassing Black residents. The town’s population of about 1,600 is 80% Black and 18% white, according to the 2020 census.

The lawsuit details allegations from more than a dozen plaintiffs against the current police chief, Charles Henderson. It accuses Henderson of making lewd remarks to women as well as playing a role in encouraging bad policing and discriminatory acts by officers who worked under him.

“Defendant Henderson has authorized the misconduct of LPD officers, employees, and agents, including false arrests, and excessive force and has personally violated Black citizens’ civil rights,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also alleges that Mayor Robin McCrory acted with “deliberate indifference” to allegations made by the many plaintiffs. The lawsuit names several other police