$10 million suit claims Mississippi cop turned body-cam off and sexually assaulted woman

A woman has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against a Mississippi police officer who she says sexually assaulted her during a traffic stop last August.

According to the suit, filed May 21 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Shanterra Jackson was riding in a vehicle driven by a man, identified by FOX13 in Memphis as Jackson’s fiance, in the town of Sardis, Miss., about 225 miles west of Huntsville, when they were stopped by a police officer.

The Sardis officer, unidentified in the lawsuit, walked up to the vehicle with gun drawn, the suit claims, ordering Jackson and her fiance to get out. The officer never informed Jackson or the man why they had been stopped, but he called for assistance from an officer from nearby Senatobia.

Senatobia officer Willis McNeil arrived at the scene and, without explanation or probable cause, handcuffed Jackson, according to the complaint. At the same time, Jackson’s fiance was ordered by the Sardis officer to get inside a police vehicle.

McNeil began driving Jackson into the woods. When Jackson repeatedly asked why, McNeil is alleged to have replied “You know for what.” Once McNeil stopped the vehicle, he took Jackson out, removed her handcuffs and bent her over his car before sexually assaulting her, according to the complaint.

The complaint says McNeil turned his body camera off prior to the assault. FOX13 obtained police records which also showed McNeil turned his body camera off after detaining Jackson.

Jackson’s attorney, Carlos Moore, told McClatchy News Jackson was never charged with a crime after she was detained and assaulted.

McNeil and Senatobia police chief Richard Chandler are named as co-defendants in the $10 million suit.

In a statement to McClatchy News, Chandler seems to suggest McNeil wasn’t on duty at the time of the incident.

“In the complaint, Attorney Moore makes allegations against Defendant Willis McNeil and says that McNeil was on duty for the Senatobia Police Department. Attorney Moore’s allegation is blatantly false. The City and Chief Richard Chandler look forward to responding to Attorney Moore’s allegations in more detail through the proper legal channels.”

Jackson’s lawsuit marks another controversy for the embattled Senatobia police department and Chandler, both listed as defendants in a $2 million lawsuit filed by the mother of a 10-year-old boy who was arrested last August for urinating in public.

In addition to Chandler and police Lt. Zachary Jenkins, four unnamed police officers are listed as defendants in that lawsuit. It’s unknown whether McNeil is one of those officers.