Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker has responded to allegations made against the sheriff’s department in a 47 page document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Northern Division.
RELATED: ACLU sues Madison County Sheriff’s Department
In May, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on behalf of several individuals against the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, claiming racial profiling, targeting, and discrimination against people in the African-American community.
The response filed outlines 47 complaints made against the department, and the sheriff’s answer to them.
As part of the response, the defense states that the Madison County Sheriff’s Department is longstanding and deeply entrenched, and that efforts had been made to work with both the black and white communities regarding the services of the department. They deny any unconstitutional or racially based treatment.
The sheriff went on to say in the response that citizens are encouraged to report any complaints directly to the department, and rather written or oral, when they are made they will be investigated.
News Mississippi reached out to Sheriff Randy Tucker, who declined to comment due to the advice of his legal counsel.
CLICK HERE to read the full response.
The ACLU claims that the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit were illegally searched, detained, forced to endure home invasions, and even were even threatened into giving false statements.
One alleged case is that of Quinetta Manning, who claims that her husband, who is physically disabled, was beaten until he agreed to sign a false statement for a crime he claims he didn’t witness.