Location: Mississippi
Co-Counsel: Jill Collen Jefferson (JULIAN), Thomas Bellinder (Bellinder Law Firm)
In August 2022, a recording was leaked of Sam Dobbins—the white Chief of Police of the Lexington, Mississippi Police Department (LPD)—saying “nig***” and “fa**ot,” and telling an LPD officer that he would not care if the officer “killed a motherf**ker in cold blood.”
In the nearly 17-minute recording, Dobbins can be heard telling the officer that he has killed 13 people in his career and even “justified” shooting one man (who Dobbins refers to with a racial slur) 119 times when the man was running away from him. Unaware that the conversation was being recorded, Dobbins is heard relishing the fact that the Lexington community (a community that is 86% Black) “fears” him.
Disturbingly, despite the audio’s release and ensuing national pressure, Lexington’s Board of Aldermen only narrowly voted (3 – 2) to terminate Dobbins. Moreover, in the weeks following Dobbins’ termination, it has become clear that this was a firing in name only, as Dobbins has continued to patrol Lexington in the passenger seat of a police-issued vehicle with an on-duty officer.
While Dobbins’ hateful, violent language in the recording drew national attention, it is only one incident in an ongoing pattern of violent, racist policing in Lexington that runs far deeper. In the last year alone, over 200 Black citizens have formally or informally complained about being harassed, arrested, or fined for baseless reasons.
Over the past year, the Lexington Police Department has begun conducting roadblocks as frequently as multiple times per day in majority Black neighborhoods and outside Black community events, using these as pretext to surveil and harass Black drivers and passengers. Multiple accounts confirm that LPD sets roadblocks near the predominantly-Black Holmes County Central High School anytime the school hosts events but does not conduct roadblocks during activities of the predominantly-White Central Holmes Christian High School. The plaintiffs in this case estimate that in Lexington, a town with an area no larger than 2.5 square miles, LPD has conducted at least 300 roadblocks within the past year.
Harris et. al. v. Dobbins et. al. is a lawsuit filed on behalf of Robert Harris, Darius Harris, Eric Redmond, Malcolm Stewart, and Peter Reeves against Sam Dobbins (former Chief of Police of Lexington, MS), Charles Henderson (Interim Chief of Police of Lexington, MS), the City of Lexington, and the Lexington Police Department.
All of the plaintiffs in this case have experienced harassment, coercion, threatening conduct, and often brutal mistreatment at the hands of the Lexington Police Department, and this suit seeks redress not only for those injustices, but for the ongoing harm they face as a result of continued customs and practices. Black civilians in Lexington are subject to a systemic deprivation of liberty under the Lexington Police Department – a deprivation that cannot continue.
In the News
- Town’s Black Citizens Sue Police Department Over Mississippi ‘Martial Law’ | Newsweek
- After Police Chief’s Racist Tirade, Mississippi City Lands in Court | Bloomberg
- Black Lexington Plaintiffs Seek Restraining Order Against Police for ‘Harassment, Coercion, and Threatening Conduct’ | Mississippi Free Press
- Mississippi police department sued after chief fired over racist, homophobic rant | USA Today
- Justice Department says Mississippi town violates residents’ rights | Mississippi Today
Case Filing: