JACKSON — Ten black Madison County residents joined the ACLU of Mississippi this morning to announce a new federal class-action lawsuit against Madison County and Sheriff Randall Tucker. The sheriff’s department exposed these and other African Americans to “unconstitutional racially discriminatory policing tactics,” the 80-plus-page lawsuit alleges.
Paloma Wu, the legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, said the lawsuit is a result of a year-long investigation made possible by the help of dozens of Madison County residents who came forward to share their stories, as well as hundreds of pages of public records from the sheriff’s department.
The lawsuit says Madison County Sheriff’s Department’s policing program includes vehicular roadblocks, pedestrian checkpoints, warrantless searches of homes and “jump-out” patrols in predominantly black communities in the county…