The U.S. Department of Justice announced late last week that they reached a settlement forcing changes within a Mississippi town’s police department that routinely discriminated against Black people.
Settled out of court, the agreement now requires the Lexington police department and the city to implement reforms to fines, use of force, stops & searches, and bail. The police department is also banned from jailing people for unpaid fines without first checking whether they can afford them. Previously, they were found to violate the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection.
Lexington must also remove warrants for unpaid fines and clear the records of those previously arrested for fines.
With the settlement, they must additionally address the number of stops, warnings, citations, and arrests they make. The Department of Justice must approve future training administered by the Lexington Police Department on use of force.
“Today’s agreement reflects a shared commitment to meaningful and sustainable change” said U.S. Attorney J.E. Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi in a news release. “Through these reforms, we seek not only to address the concerns identified in our investigation, but also to strengthen public trust and promote practices that respect the rights and dignity of every person.”
The settlement stemmed from a 2023 investigation that found the Lexington Police Department routinely engaged in unlawful practices for profit. A report released in September 2024 by the DOJ itself found that they consistently discriminated against Black people.
In this town of 1,200 people, the Lexington Police Department made one arrest per every four people. This rate is 10 times that of Mississippi as a whole. Most arrests were for non-criminal offenses, including cursing and unpaid fines.
Despite being a small town, nearly $1.7 million in fines were owed to the Lexington Police Department.
Black people were more likely to be arrested. As of 2023, they were nearly 18 times more likely to be arrested in Lexington compared to white people.
“Public safety depends on public confidence in our justice system,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a news release. “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.”
