The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday published their findings of systemic abuse by the police department in Lexington, Mississippi.
Lexington, a small rural town with a population of around 1,600, is situated in one of the nation’s poorest counties. The median household income in Lexington is approximately $39,000, roughly half the national average. This socio-economic landscape has exacerbated the effects of police practices in the community.
The DOJ’s investigation revealed that the Lexington Police Department (LPD) engaged in aggressive policing targeting low-level offenses, such as public swearing. Over the past two years, LPD has made nearly one arrest for every four residents, a rate more than ten times the per capita arrest rate in Mississippi. This high rate of arrests has enabled LPD to enforce a policy of jailing people for outstanding fines. The DOJ found that over ninety percent of Lexington convicts are fined, with unpaid fines totaling $1.7 million.
The DOJ concluded that the LPD’s practice of jailing individuals for unpaid fines and setting bonds without considering their ability to pay violated the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. These practices often turned minor offenses into days or weeks in jail and pressured defendants into involuntary guilty pleas, thereby causing additional due process violations. Furthermore, the DOJ found that LPD frequently failed to inform detainees that paying a “cash bond” was effectively a guilty plea.
The DOJ also identified a financial conflict of interest within LPD, noting that the department’s funding is directly tied to fines collected. This creates a perverse incentive to over-police, as the department’s budget increases with revenue from fines.
The report further highlighted instances of sexual harassment by LPD officers, based on victim reports and testimony from current and former officers. Harassment included conditioning release on sexual favors and repeatedly following women after they denied officers’ sexual requests.
The DOJ found that LPD disproportionately targeted Black residents, even though Police Chief Charles Henderson and most LPD officers are Black. A former LPD officer admitted that the department deliberately targeted Black individuals because they often lack the resources to challenge police authority.
Notably, former Police Chief Sam Dobbins was fired after an audio recording leaked, revealing him using a racial slur while bragging about shooting someone.
The DOJ further reported that LPD officers have used or threatened to use force against anyone attempting to expose evidence of their abuses.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a DOJ press release, stated, “[The] 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 … [P]ractices like these amount to punishing people for poverty.”
The DOJ’s report also pointed out ongoing civil rights lawsuits against the City of Lexington and LPD, with community members continuing to protest a persistent “culture of abuse and harassment.”
For further reading, visit the full report on JURIST.