Case: DOJ Investigation of the Lexington Police Department and the City of Lexington, Mississippi

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Case Summary

This is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) pattern and practice investigation of the City of Lexington, Mississippi and its police department. The investigation was announced on November 8, 2023. Lexington is a small town near the Mississippi Delta with a population of about 1,200. Its population is about 1,200 people (76% Black and 22% white) with a median income of roughly $39,000, which is half the national average. The LPD made the national news in July 2022 when a former LPD officer leaked…

This is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) pattern and practice investigation of the City of Lexington, Mississippi and its police department. The investigation was announced on November 8, 2023. Lexington is a small town near the Mississippi Delta with a population of about 1,200. Its population is about 1,200 people (76% Black and 22% white) with a median income of roughly $39,000, which is half the national average.

The LPD made the national news in July 2022 when a former LPD officer leaked audio of LPD's then chief of police, Sam Dobbins, using a racial slur while bragging about shooting someone. Dobbins, a white man who had been appointed by the Lexington Board of Aldermen in July 2021, frequently boasted about shooting and killing people in the line of duty. The Board voted to terminate Dobbins with the city's mayor describing Dobbins' statement as "locker room talk." Dobbins has since been replaced by Charles Henderson.

For related cases to Dobbins and the LPD's alleged misconduct, see Harris v. Dobbins (3:23-cv-00333), Secherest v. City of Lexington (3:24-cv-00034), and Jew v. Dobbins (3:23-cv-2983). 

Problems in the LPD did not end after Dobbins' tenure, however. On February 19, 2024, the DOJ sent a fines and fees letter, expressing serious concerns arising in the ongoing investigation. The letter identified two practices that raised significant concern to the Department: (1) Lexington's jailing of people for outstanding fines without assessing their ability to pay and (2) LPD's seeking and enforcement of unlawful arrest warrants for people with outstanding fines. 

On September 26, 2024, the DOJ issued its full findings, including reasonable cause to believe that the Lexington Police Department (LPD) and the City of Lexington engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments, the Safe Streets Act, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

It cited the Lexington Police Department's use of excessive force, unlawful stops, searches, and arrests, unlawful jailing without prompt access to court, violation of free speech and expression rights, retaliation, discrimination against Black people, sexual harassment, unlawful arrests for outstanding fines, imposition of money bail without justification, and a policing-for-profit scheme that created an unconstitutional financial conflict of interest.

The investigation highlighted the fact that the LPD depended on the revenue it raised from fines and fees and that officers were therefore incentivized to make arrests and decisions based on revenue rather than the public good. In 2019, for example, the LPD made 90 arrests. That number jumped up to 375 people in 2022 and 294 in 2023, amounting to nearly one arrest for every four people in Lexington. The dramatic rise in arrests led to LPD revenue increase more than sevenfold from roughly $30,000 per year to $240,000 in 2022 and $220,000 in 2023. 

The DOJ concluded that the LPD lacked internal oversight and meaningful judicial oversight. The Lexington municipal court is part of the police department with its clerk and judge being paid out of the LPD budget. The DOJ further found that the LPD retaliated against people who tried to protect their constitutional rights and challenged the LPD. Officers that were challenged would threaten these people with force or arrest and further punished people who tried to spread the word about the department's misconduct. 

The findings letter provided recommended remedial measures to address the city and the LPD's violations. The DOJ is now in the process of negotiating a resolution with the city and the police department to address its findings and, therefore, this matter is ongoing. 

Summary Authors

Herman Gonzalez (12/26/2024)

Related Cases

Harris v. Dobbins, Southern District of Mississippi (2022)

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

Findings Letter

DOJ of the Lexington Police Department and the City of Lexington, Mississippi

Sept. 26, 2024

Sept. 26, 2024

Findings Letter/Report

Resources

Docket

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Mississippi

Case Type(s):

Policing

Special Collection(s):

Fines/Fees/Bail Reform (Criminalization of Poverty)

Traffic Stop Litigation

Key Dates

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

The US Department of Justice (DOJ)

Plaintiff Type(s):

U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

City of Lexington (Lexington, Holmes), City

Defendant Type(s):

Law-enforcement

Jurisdiction-wide

Facility Type(s):

Government-run

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act, 34 U.S.C. § 12601 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 14141)

Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process: Procedural Due Process

Unreasonable search and seizure

Available Documents:

Findings Letter/Report

Outcome

Prevailing Party: None Yet / None

Nature of Relief:

None yet

Source of Relief:

None yet

Issues

General/Misc.:

Fines/Fees/Bail/Bond

Pattern or Practice

Poverty/homelessness

Racial profiling

Policing:

Excessive force

False arrest

Over/Unlawful Detention (policing)

Traffic Stops