Jackson Free Press

Police arrested ACLU Field Coordinator Brent Cox for surveying a police interdiction last month, though Cox said he was fulfilling his constitutional duty in observing the activity.

Charges listed on the Sept. 14 Jackson Police Department arrest docket identify the reason for Cox' arrest as "disobeying a police officer" and "interfering with the duties of a police officer." Cox said he only watched the altercation, took notes and asked the participating police officers for their badge numbers. Officer William Bright was the arresting officer, according to the city's arrest docket.

"There's a common practice around the country, called 'cop watch.' … It's a way to ensure police accountability, that rights aren't being violated and that good police policy is in place and being followed," Cox said.

Cox noticed two police officers detaining a man and woman around 4 p.m. in the parking lot outside the Rainbow Whole Foods Co-op Grocery on Old Canton Road. Cox said the female officer, after noticing his interest—and notepad—kept telling him to get back, ushering him away from the scene until he was more than 60 feet away from the interdiction, too far to either see or hear the event. The same officer ignored other customers passing by the same scene at closer range.

"She targeted me specifically because she didn't want me observing what was going on," Cox said.

After the interdiction, Cox approached the officers again, asking for identification. The ACLU worker said both officers refused to give their identification numbers, counter to municipal policy. The female officer even covered her badge.

Another officer pulled up, and eventually one of the officers told Cox that he was being arrested for "interfering with a police investigation."

Cox, who has been trained in police scene observation, said police did not read him his Miranda rights at any point during the arrest, emptying his pockets or while guiding him to the patrol car.

Cox sat in the county jail in Raymond for 14 hours before getting his phone call and arranging his $2,500 bond.

"Three shifts of guards passed before I was allowed to make a phone call. I was there with 30 guys, and I have to ask, 'why.'" Cox said. "It's morally obscene to lock people up for 14 hours. Their families have no idea where they are, or they could lose their jobs."

Mississippi ACLU Executive Director Nsombi Lambright said the group panicked when Cox "vanished for the whole night."

"We didn't hear from him. We had a witness who saw his arrest, but anything could have happened to him after that. Nobody called us, and nobody (at JPD) had any answers," Lambright said, adding that the ACLU now classifies Jackson police as "aggressive" to onlookers and restricts members from overtly observing them.

JPD spokesman Commander Lee Vance said he did not know enough about the incident to speculate on the legality of it.

"Not being out there, I don't know how the circumstances unfurled that … prompted them to arrest. (I'm) not saying it was legitimate or not—I'm just saying that it's hard for me to say something about something that I don't have any personal knowledge of," Vance said.

Kristy L. Bennett is a Byrd-Silverman legal fellow with the Mississippi ACLU. Bennett said the city has likely violated at least two constitutional rights in arresting Cox.

"We believe the officers violated his First Amendment right in refusing him his right to observe. This is a free speech issue. … We also think they could have possibly violated his Fourth Amendment right through the unlawful seizure of his person," Bennett said.

The ACLU filed an Internal Affairs complaint last month, and is requesting a disposition of the incident. The ACLU plans to make no plea at Cox's Nov. 15 arraignment, but will ask the city to dismiss the charges.

Mississippi School of Law professor Matt Steffey said the ACLU will likely get the charges dropped, but said the organization was facing an uphill battle in any suit proving constitutional violations.

"If you want the city to be liable, you have to show that this behavior was a city policy. If you want to hold the individual officers responsible, you have to show that they arrested him under circumstances they knew to be without probable cause. … These are expensive, difficult cases to make. Even police brutality cases, with victims showing egregious harm, are expensive, difficult cases," Steffey said.

Previous Comments

ID

68127

Comment

I hope the charges are dropped. Not reading Miranda rights is enough by itself to throw the case out, isn't it?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-10-10T21:19:38-06:00

ID

68128

Comment

Thanks, L.W. No, charges aren't affected by Miranda. It's simply a protection under the Fifth Amendment against self incrimination. I already knew my Miranda rights, though, and knew not to talk to officers once I'd been arrested. I'm the ACLU of Mississippi's Public Education Coordinator. What I mainly educate on is citizens rights to monitor their governments--from city council meetings to school board meetings to observing police encounters in their neighborhoods.

Author

Brent Cox

Date

2007-10-11T08:24:34-06:00

ID

68129

Comment

My point above being that I knew my Miranda rights in advance, as well as how to conduct myself when observing police.

Author

Brent Cox

Date

2007-10-11T13:21:04-06:00

ID

68130

Comment

The police complain that they are not respected; but they act in such a boorish and repulsive manner that even the law-abiding despise them.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-10-15T08:59:06-06:00

ID

68131

Comment

Having seen countless people charged with resisting arrest, interfering with a police officer, breach of peace and a bunch of other baseless crap that police officers make up routinely when challenged or questioned, I try not to interfere at all, to stay very calm, or to just go off verbally on the police officer expecting the book to be thrown at me. When I see a cop who is calm and professional when challenged or questioned, except on the witness stand, I'm always tempted to personally give him or her a raise (buy them lunch) and compliment them. I see the opposite kind most often.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-15T09:45:44-06:00

ID

68132

Comment

This is CRAP at its best. Some of these officars are nothing more than gang mentality goons. You can't tell them anything. The case got quiet about the officer who killed the man in handcuffs/custody the other week. By the way, what was the verdict on the $5,000 taken from the safe at the precinct on State St.?

Author

justjess

Date

2007-10-15T10:19:23-06:00

ID

68133

Comment

I certainly hope there are some consequences to this police abuse. Perhaps the grand jury should investigate while we still have a DA that is not tied to Frank Melton. Has anyone done that yet?

Author

FriendsofJackson

Date

2007-10-15T10:49:40-06:00

ID

68134

Comment

Don't know what happened to my post... But, here is the video that was shot before the police arrested the guy under the pretense that the camera was a deadly weapon. Here is the story that accompanies it... [i">Officers wrote in their reports that Waterhouse ran off, they chased and then bean-bagged and Tasered him. One officer wrote, "He had refused to drop the camera which could be used as a weapon." I think the video proves he didn't run... "Arrggghhh" were his last words then the video ends. Cha-Ching!

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-10-17T15:19:21-06:00

ID

68135

Comment

The video - link fixed...

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-10-17T15:20:31-06:00