A Mississippi officer used excessive force against a man he arrested, prosecutors say

• Simpson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Adrian Durr is charged with deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Conviction is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi law enforcement officer allegedly used excessive force against a man he arrested earlier this year by striking him with the handgrip of a Taser and kicking him in the head while the man was handcuffed to a bench, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.

Simpson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Adrian Durr, 43, of Magee, is charged with deprivation of civil rights under color of law, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Durr pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Thursday before a U.S. magistrate judge in Jackson, his attorney Michael Cory said.

“There is more to the story, but we’re just going to have to let the process play out,” Cory told The Associated Press by phone.

The trial of Durr, who is still employed by the sheriff’s department, was set for Dec. 2, Cory said.

Both Durr and the man he is accused of abusing are Black, Cory said.

The indictment says the alleged abuse happened Feb. 18, and it identified the man Durr arrested only by the initials D.J.

Security camera video of a jail booking area showed Durr and D.J. argued after the latter’s misdemeanor arrest, and D.J. tried to stand while handcuffed to a bench that was bolted to the ground, according to the indictment. The document said D.J. also was in ankle shackles when Durr allegedly beat and kicked him.

“Our citizens deserve credible law enforcement to safeguard the community from crime,” Robert A. Eikhoff, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Jackson, said in a statement. “The actions of Mr. Durr significantly deprived the citizens of that protection and eroded the trust earned each day by honest law enforcement officers throughout the nation.”

Simpson County has a population of about 25,600 and is roughly 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Jackson, the state capital.

Neighboring Rankin County was the site of an unrelated brutality case by law enforcement officers in 2023: Five former deputies and a former Richland police officer pleaded guilty to federal and state charges in torture of two Black men, and all six were sentenced earlier this year.

The Justice Department announced last month that it was investigating whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force and unlawful stops, searches and arrests, and whether it has used racially discriminatory policing practices.

The department also recently issued a scathing report that said police in the majority-Black town of Lexington, discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against critics. Lexington is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Jackson.