Cop handcuffs woman, turns off camera and sexually assaults her in the woods, suit says
A woman filed a $10 million lawsuit against a Mississippi police officer, saying he detained her during a traffic stop and sexually assaulted her in the woods after turning off his body camera.
The incident unfolded on Aug. 25, when a vehicle Shanterra Jackson was riding in was pulled over by a Sardis police officer, according to a federal civil rights complaint she filed May 21 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Mississippi.
The complaint says the officer walked up to the car with a gun drawn and made Jackson and the driver get out. Then, he called an officer from the neighboring city of Senatobia, where Jackson lives, for help, according to the complaint.
The driver was Jackson’s fiance, she told FOX13.
“The officer had a gun at the window,” Jackson recalled in an interview with the TV station. “So, I was kind of shocked like, ‘Baby, are they going to shoot us or what?’”
The Sardis officer, who wasn’t identified in the lawsuit, didn’t tell Jackson or her friend why they were pulled over, the complaint says.
Then, Senatobia Police Department Officer Willis McNeil arrived and handcuffed Jackson without giving probable cause, according to the complaint.
The assault
As McNeil detained Jackson, the Sardis officer ordered her fiance to get inside a police cruiser, according to cellphone footage recorded by Jackson, FOX13 reported.
Then, McNeil drove Jackson, who was in his police car, into the woods and turned his body camera off moments later before sexually assaulting her, the complaint says.
When Jackson asked McNeil why they were driving into the woods, the officer is accused of telling her “you know for what,” according to the complaint.
Afterward, he “took Plaintiff Jackson’s handcuffs off and bent her over his car,” the complaint says.
Jackson was never charged with a crime after she was detained and assaulted, her attorney Carlos E. Moore, told McClatchy News on May 28.
“This traumatic incident has caused her significant mental, emotional, and physical suffering,” Moore said in an emailed statement.
What the Senatobia Police Department says
Jackson’s lawsuit also names the city of Senatobia and Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler as defendants.
In a statement to McClatchy News on May 28. Chandler said: “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,” the emailed statement said.
The city didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on May 28.
Moore told McClatchy News that Jackson is filing a criminal affidavit with the Tate County Justice Court over the Aug. 25 incident.
A ‘call for transparency and accountability’
Police records reviewed by FOX13 showed McNeil turned his body camera off when he detained Jackson, the outlet reported.
“The behavior of Officer McNeil represents a blatant abuse of power and a serious violation of Ms. Jackson’s civil rights,” Moore said.
Jackson is suing McNeil on several causes of action, including excessive force in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights, negligence, false arrest and imprisonment, and civil assault and battery, the complaint shows.
She is also suing McNeil, Chandler and the city, accusing them of violating her 14th Amendment rights.
The complaint argues Chandler and the city were negligent in training, hiring and supervising McNeil.
“Such failure to train and supervise allowed Defendant McNeil to commit an appalling and unbelievable act of sexual violence,” the complaint says.
With her lawsuit, Jackson demands a jury trial.
“We call for transparency and accountability to prevent future injustices,” Moore said about the case. “We also urge anyone with additional information about this case or the officers involved to come forward.”
Moore is an attorney in another federal lawsuit filed in February against Senatobia and Chandler over the arrest of a 10-year-old boy who urinated in public and was detained in jail, McClatchy News previously reported. The case is still pending, records show.
Senatobia is about a 40-mile drive south from Memphis, Tennessee.
This story was originally published May 28, 2024 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Cop handcuffs woman, turns off camera and sexually assaults her in the woods, suit says."
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