The ongoing allegations against Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin and several of his deputies – including supposed incidents of warrantless search, excessive force, false arrest and failure to intercede, among others – will soon take center stage at the William J. Colmer federal court building in downtown Hattiesburg, home of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
According to documents from district court, plaintiffs DeShon Bayless and Angelia Page have filed suit on 13 counts against Berlin and four of his staff members: sergeant Jake Driskell, captain Vince Williams, deputy Andrew Yates and deputy Chase Smith. “Jones County, Mississippi, and DOE officers 1-6” also are named in the complaint, which seeks monetary damages against the department and alleges violations ranging from warrantless search and false arrest.
“The defendants (the sheriff’s department) are liable for their constitutional violations and all resulting damages and harms,” reads the suit, which was filed on April 25 by Hattiesburg attorney Matthew Lawrence and Jackson attorney Michael Cory. “The constitutional violations resulted from the policies and customs and established and observed by the final policymaker for the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Berlin.
“The systemic abuses by the JCSD and Sheriff Berlin result from a custom and culture which encourages, sanctions, minimizes and protects violations of the constitutional rights of regular citizens.”
The document names the following violations and law enforcement officers:
- Warrantless search from Yates, Smith and Williams;
- Unlawful seizure from Yates, Williams and Smith;
- Unlawful search from Yates;
- Excessive force from Yates and Williams;
- Fales arrest from Yates and Williams; and
- Failure to intercede from Williams, Yates, Smith, Driskell and Berlin.
According to the complaint, the incidents began on January 11 at Bayless’ residence in Jones County, where he was living with his mother, Page. At approximately 5:15 p.m. on that date, Bayless was inside of his parked car at the residence, when Williams, Yates and Smith entered the property and began looking into the house’s windows.
Shortly thereafter, Yates saw Bayless and ordered him to get out of the vehicle. Bayless complied with the order and exited the car with his hands above his head.
Yates then grabbed Bayless and forced him onto his stomach on the ground outside of the car, before searching Bayless.
“To show his authority and control over (Bayless), deputy Yates grabbed (Bayless) by the back of the head and violently shoved his face in the dirt,” the suit states. “Deputy Yates then relinquished control of (Bayless) to Captain Williams.
“Then while on top of (Bayless), Captain Williams insulted and belittled him. Captain Williams also used his left arm to place (Bayless) in a chokehold.”
Bayless was then taken to the Jones County Jail, where he was booked before being released on his own recognizance after approximately 15 hours in incarceration. Page then showed Berlin footage from her residence, which was taken from a Ring camera at her home at the time of the incident.
“After viewing the video, Sheriff Berlin knew or should have known that his deputies were guilty of violating (Bayless’) constitutional rights and that his deputies had no probable cause to arrest or charge (Bayless),” the suit reads. “The defendants illegally seized Ms. Page’s residence without probable cause or exigent circumstances.
“Sergeant Driskell and deputy Smith did not procure the search warrant for the home until hours later when the county court judge Wayne Thompson signed it at 6:45 p.m. No probable cause existed for the issuance of this search warrant.”
The complaint alleges that deputies had no legal basis for concluding that Bayless was engaged in any criminal activity whatsoever when they entered the property. Therefore, his seizure and detention were unreasonable and unconstitutional.
“(Bayless) was not engaged in any unlawful activity while in his vehicle,” the document states. “Deputies had no reasonable suspicion for concluding that (Bayless) was engaged in any illegal activity or that he posed a threat or danger to them.
“Nevertheless, deputy Yates searched (Bayless’) person without his consent. Accordingly, the defendants violated (Bayless’) Fourth Amendment rights. Without legal authority, deputy Yates threw (Bayless) to the ground, pushed his face into the ground, and restrained him. As a result of this excessive use of force, (Bayless) suffered emotional and psychological distress.”
Additionally, the complaint states the following;
- Although Yates did not have a warrant or probable cause to be on the property, Williams did nothing to stop Yates from entering the property and conducting a search;
- Bayless was not resisting arrest when Williams joined in to arrest him;
- Bayless had not committed a crime in the presence of Williams; yet
- Williams did not intervene at any point in an attempt to stop any other deputy from engaging in the arrest.
“On information and belief, the JCSD has a custom of violating the constitutional rights of others,” the document reads. “Though not a written policy, this custom was so widespread as to have the force of law.
“None of the JCSD deputies on the scene had body cameras. The JCSD has a history of wrongfully tolerating, condoning and encouraging constitutional violations. As a result, the custom and culture of JCSD is for the JCSD to protect its deputies when they violate the constitutional rights of others, and where the JCSD disciplines deputies, if at all, when their actions are exposed by third-party video, making the misconduct impossible to deny or explain away.”
The suit goes on to state that in January, Berlin committed unlawful seizure and simple assault on resident Monterian Dotson, who Berlin allegedly slammed on the hood of a truck in the parking lot of Lowe’s in Laurel. Berlin also allegedly entered the football locker room at South Jones High School and unlawfully seized and assaulted a ninth-grader.
Additionally, Berlin allegedly falsely arrested a mother in February 2020 and was left in jail for two days and was not allowed to see a judge.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages of at least $1 million, punitive damages of at least $4 million, attorney fees and costs and further relief.
