A former Columbia man is alleging in a lawsuit that a Columbia police officer attacked and threatened him after the man went back on a plan to buy drugs while wearing a wire.
Jesse Domenique Jefferson, 26, of Jackson filed the lawsuit June 20 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi against the City of Columbia and Police Officer Nathan Cook, according to court records.
The lawsuit alleges excessive force and other violations of constitutional rights and requests a jury trial.
According to the lawsuit, Jefferson was homeless and unemployed while living in Columbia in October 2018. The lawsuit said he decided to “cash out” of a dice game with friends and received a $100 bill.
The lawsuit said Jefferson went to a restaurant, The Shed, to get something to eat but left the business after an employee said she had to take it to the bank first and he became concerned it was counterfeit. He returned after the employee pulled up beside him while he was walking down the road and told him everything was OK and he could come back and get his food, the lawsuit said.
When he got there a police officer was waiting, the lawsuit said, and Jefferson went into a nearby Piggly Wiggly, where the officer arrested him.
The lawsuit said Cook and another officer, Ryan Williams, approached Jefferson at the Police Department about wearing a wire to set up individuals on drug buys. According to the lawsuit, Jefferson declined and said he wasn’t aware the bill was counterfeit. The lawsuit said Jefferson spent the night in jail and was approached by the officers again the next day and agreed to cooperate.
“The Plaintiff agreed to wear the wire and was given $60 as ‘buy money.’ However, the Plaintiff had no intention of cooperating due to fear of retribution from those he would have to ‘setup,’” the lawsuit said. “The Plaintiff was driven away from the station and released. As soon as the officers released the Plaintiff and he was out of sight, he took off the wire.”
The lawsuit said he hid for several days before being apprehended on Oct. 14 by Sgt. Adrien Fortenberry and Officer Jacob Powell. The lawsuit said at the police station Cook took Jefferson into an office and shut the door.
“Cook then zip tied the Plaintiff to a pole and struck him with a yard stick so hard that it broke. Cook then got a chair and placed the legs on the Plaintiff’s feet. Cook sat in the chair causing the Plaintiff to experience excruciating pain in his feet,” the lawsuit said. “Cook also aimed a black Smith and Wesson revolver to the Plaintiff’s head and threatened his life. Cook told the Plaintiff ‘I should shoot you and say you reached for it.’”
The lawsuit said Cook “berated the Plaintiff with racial slurs and even took a picture of himself with the Plaintiff and sent it to Williams.”
The lawsuit said Jefferson was crying and saying “they are going to kill me” and had difficulty standing up when Powell took him to the county jail. The lawsuit also said a call from dispatch to Powell after Powell left the jail said Jefferson was having difficulty urinating and could hardly walk.
The lawsuit said the allegations were set forth in a letter sent to the police chief on Oct. 23, 2018, by Columbia Police Officer William L. Herrington.
The lawsuit said Jefferson was never contacted to give his side of what happened in the city’s investigation, which the lawsuit alleges was “mere subterfuge” and an attempt to cover up what happened.
The lawsuit requests compensatory and punitive damages along with payment of medical expenses and other fees.
Jefferson is represented by Charles R. Mullins of Jackson.
Columbia police said in February that they turned over evidence regarding the alleged incident to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation for it to investigate. An MBI spokesman had not responded as of press deadlines to a request for comment regarding the status of that investigation.
Mayor Justin McKenzie said Monday he had no comment on any litigation. Police Chief Michael Kelly was out of the office this week and not available for comment.
This is the second federal lawsuit this year filed against the city and Nathan Cook alleging excessive force. Shamber Hollins sued on Feb. 18 alleging Cook hit her and threw her to the ground during a 2017 traffic stop. The lawsuit also names two other officers, J. Sellers and Jason Cook, whom the lawsuit alleges were on the scene but didn’t come to Hollins’ aid.
Hollins is represented by Lilli Evans Bass of Jackson.
The defendants have denied the charges in their official court response.
The response says Hollins was stopped at a safety checkpoint at Highway 198 and Pine Ridge Road and did not have a license or proof of insurance. The response said she was placed under arrest for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
A judge has stayed that case pending a ruling on a motion by the defendants making an immunity defense, which provides protection for public officials working within the scope of their official duties.
Hollins was found guilty of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in 2017 in Columbia Municipal Court, according to court records.
She has appealed that verdict to Marion County Circuit Court, where a bench trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Marion County Courthouse before Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell.
