After a thorough investigation, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that the City of Lexington, Mississippi, and its Police Department have been violating people’s constitutional and federal rights.
Lexington is a small town of about 1,200 people, located an hour from Jackson, Mississippi.
Specifically, the Justice Department finds that LPD unlawfully
- Arrests, jails and detains people who cannot pay fines or fees, without assessing their ability to pay
- Uses excessive force
- Conducts stops, searches and arrests without probable cause, including jailing people on illegal “investigative holds” and arresting people solely because they owe outstanding fines
- Imposes money bail without justification or assessment of ability to pay
- Jails people without prompt access to court
- Violates the rights of people engaged in free speech and expression, including by retaliating against people who criticize the police
- Discriminates against Black people
- Operates under an unconstitutional conflict of interest because LPD’s funding depends on the money it raises through its enforcement
In addition, the investigation about the city assessing accessive fines and fees:
- LPD’s enforcement has left hundreds of residents in debt, with over $1.7 million in outstanding fines in a town of just 1,200 people
- LPD lacks an accountability system, and those facing charges, especially the poor, often don’t have access to legal counsel, allowing misconduct to continue
The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi led the Justice Department’s investigation, which got underway on November 8, 2023.
To Read the Entire DOJ Investigation Report Click Here: DOJ
Investigators reviewed LPD records, body camera footage, and court records, interviewed police and city officials, and met with community members.
“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,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department’s investigation uncovered that Lexington police officers have engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminating against the city’s Black residents, used excessive force, and retaliated against those who criticize them.”
“Additionally, 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.”
(DOJ Announces Investigation in 2023)
“Public safety depends on public confidence in our justice system,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “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. I’m grateful to the Civil Rights Division for its thorough investigation and continued work to address these findings.”
“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. In every corner of our country, police officers must respect people’s constitutional rights and treat people with dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Clarke added, “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. Our findings report furthers the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring fairness and the rule of law.”
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “No matter how large or small, every police department has an obligation to follow the Constitution.”
The investigation indicated the following:
- LPD has made nearly one arrest for every four residents in the past two years, mainly for minor offenses and traffic violations.
- This arrest rate is over 10 times higher than the state average.
- Many arrests were for non-criminal acts, such as unpaid fines or using profanity.
- The majority of those arrested are Black, and in 2023, Black people were 17.6 times more likely to be arrested than white people.
- LPD used excessive force in minor cases, such as breaking down a door to arrest a man for swearing at an official.
- In one instance, officers tased a man for 15 seconds after following him home for a tinted windshield violation.
- On the day the Justice Department launched its investigation, LPD officers tased a man nine times for disturbing a business.
(July 2022 News Report)
In February, while the investigation was ongoing, the department issued a letter to the City of Lexington raising significant concerns regarding their practice of jailing people for unpaid fines without first assessing whether they can afford to pay them.
The City and LPD cooperated fully with the investigation.
The City and LPD have committed to working cooperatively with the department to address the violations identified in the department’s findings.
The department will be conducting outreach to members of the Lexington community for input on remedies to address the department’s findings. Individuals may submit recommendations to [email protected].