Lexington, Mississippi, agrees to sweeping police reforms after a federal civil rights probe

Residents of Lexington, Mississippi, who spent years saying their small town's police force treated them as a source of cash won a measure of relief on Friday. The Justice Department announced a settlement that requires the city and its police department to overhaul how they handle fines, bail, stops, searches and use of force.

A town under scrutiny

Lexington is a rural, poor and majority-Black town some 65 miles north of Jackson. Federal investigators opened a review in March 2023 after residents described roadblocks that singled out Black drivers, arrests without cause, excessive force and sexual misconduct by officers.

A findings report in September 2024 said the department had a pattern of violating people's constitutional rights. It found the city court had issued warrants for more than 650 people over unpaid fines, close to half the town. From 2022 to 2024 police made one arrest for every four residents, more than ten times the rate for Mississippi as a whole. Many of the arrests were for minor offenses that brought in money.

What has to change

Under the agreement, police can no longer jail someone for unpaid fines without first checking whether the person is able to pay. The settlement notes that locking people up for being poor violates the Fourteenth Amendment.

The city must throw out existing warrants for fines and fees that broke the law and seek to clear records of unlawful convictions tied to fines. Quotas or rewards for stops, warnings, tickets, arrests or revenue are banned. Officers will take training approved by the federal government on stops, searches, arrests and force. Supervisors must document and review those actions. The city also has to rewrite its rules on bail, release and conflicts of interest.

Three years to show progress

The deal runs for three years. It could end sooner if both sides agree the town has complied or last longer if it has not.

J.E. Baxter Kruger, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, said the goal is to rebuild public trust and make sure police respect the rights and dignity of everyone they serve. Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department's Civil Rights Division, said the federal government backs local police and welcomed the city's cooperation.

City and police officials did not immediately comment.

For families who were jailed or fined again and again, the agreement offers a clean slate on old warrants and a set of rules that outside monitors will now watch closely.