Mississippi
Police In A Small Mississippi Town Brutalized Its Black Population, Lawsuit Alleges
A lawsuit filed this week by Julian, a civil rights organization based in Mississippi, alleges that the city of Lexington, a predominantly Black rural town, and its police department have harassed and abused Black residents for years.
The Department of Justice launched a “pattern-or-practice investigation” into Lexington in November, examining the city and its police department. Such investigations look for persistent patterns of misconduct or evidence of discriminatory practices.
Julian also filed a federal lawsuit in 2022 against the city after its former police chief Sam Dobbins was caught on tape making several racist comments ― including bragging about shooting a Black suspect 119 times.
This week’s lawsuit alleges the city of Lexington was complicit because the mayor and other officials ignored the misconduct. It alleges that Dobbins threw out police citations against white residents while targeting, arresting, threatening and harassing Black residents. The town’s population of about 1,600 is 80% Black and 18% white, according to the 2020 census.
The lawsuit details allegations from more than a dozen plaintiffs against the current police chief, Charles Henderson. It accuses Henderson of making lewd remarks to women as well as playing a role in encouraging bad policing and discriminatory acts by officers who worked under him.
“Defendant Henderson has authorized the misconduct of LPD officers, employees, and agents, including false arrests, and excessive force and has personally violated Black citizens’ civil rights,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that Mayor Robin McCrory acted with “deliberate indifference” to allegations made by the many plaintiffs. The lawsuit names several other police officers — Aaron Agee, Justin Newell, Laron Simpson, Chris Burrell, Cordarious Epps, Laron Simpson and Scott Walters — as defendants.
Henderson did not reply to repeated requests for comment, and the police department declined to comment. City officials also did not respond.
“Black Lexingtonians have told civil rights organizations that [they] are afraid to even stop for LPD now when officers pull them over [because] they believe there is a great likelihood that they will be beaten,” the lawsuit says.
Epps said in testimony for the 2022 lawsuit that he could remember “plenty” of times Dobbins threw out white residents’ citations.
“Basically, when we write white people tickets, they get throwed out under the table behind our back,” Epps said in the lawsuit.
From June 27, 2021, to May 17, 2022, officers arrested seven white people and 100 Black people, with more than 40% of the arrests of Black people stemming from minor traffic violations. Additionally, from Aug. 15, 2022, to June 24, 2023, 98% of people arrested and sent to jail were Black and only 1% were white, the lawsuit states.
Dobbins promoted Henderson despite the fact that Henderson was reprimanded for “conduct unbecoming of a police officer” in Canton, Mississippi, before being fired from that police department.
In Lexington, a 60-year-old Black resident, Shirley Gibson, sued Henderson, claiming he used Mace and a Taser on her before she was falsely arrested in 2021. Henderson was never reprimanded for the encounter with Gibson.
Former Lexington police officers named in the lawsuit described Henderson and Dobbins as “partners in crime” whom the Black community complained about nearly daily.
Yolanda Wallace alleged Justin Newell arrested her and inappropriately touched her in June 2023.
“Mrs. Wallace asked him to loosen the cuffs, and Newell became angry, bent down, and put his hands between her legs near her vagina, and pulled her out of the car,” the lawsuit says.
Wallace was not charged, the lawsuit states.
The Justice Department investigation of the police department is ongoing.
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The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
Mississippi
D1Baseball rankings: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss surge after big weekends – SuperTalk Mississippi
Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss have surged in the rankings after a big weekend on the diamond.
The Bulldogs (30-10, 10-8 SEC) jumped two spots to No. 15 in the latest poll from D1Baseball following a strong bounce back. Brian O’ Connor’s club, after having been on the wrong side of SEC sweeps in back-to-back series, earned a 10-rule win over Samford on Tuesday, then took care of business with a sweep at South Carolina.
Next up for Mississippi State is a midweek home matchup versus Memphis on Tuesday before LSU heads to Dudy Noble Field for Super Bulldog Weekend.
The Rebels (29-12, 10-8 SEC) took the biggest leap in the rankings, making an eight-spot jump to No. 17 despite not budging in the top 25 a week ago after sweeping LSU. Once Mike Bianco’s club took the first two games at Tennessee in the most recent series, D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers made note that Ole Miss fans could expect to see their team catapult in his outlet’s poll. Come Monday, though the red and blue lost the series finale, D1Baseball stuck to its word.
“What a weekend so far for [Ole Miss baseball]. Cade Townsend carried a no hitter into the sixth in an 8-1 win over Tennessee to take the series,” Rogers wrote on X. “Rebs are on a heater. Safe to say they’ll be much higher than 25 on Monday.”
Next up for the red-hot Rebels is a home midweek outing versus Murray State, the team that knocked the Rebels out of the postseason last year, before No. 5 Georgia travels to Swayze Field for Double Decker weekend.
The Golden Eagles (28-12, 11-7 Sun Belt) made a four-spot jump to No. 18 after securing a much needed conference sweep to keep hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional alive. Christian Ostrander’s club defended home turf over the weekend, taking all three games from a solid Texas State club.
Next up for the black and gold is a Tuesday midweek battle versus former conference foe Tulane, before making an hour and a half drive to South Alabama for the weekend.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Georgia Tech
- Texas
- Georgia
- Oregon State
- Texas A&M
- Florida State
- Coastal Carolina
- Virginia
- Auburn
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi State
- Kansas
- Ole Miss
- Southern Miss
- Oregon
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Boston College
- USC
- Arkansas
- Arizona State
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
01-07-11-30-34
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 7-4-6, FB: 5
Evening: 3-3-0, FB: 8
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 3-4-8-9, FB: 5
Evening: 6-2-0-4, FB: 8
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 10
Evening: 08
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
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