U.S. Attorney’s Office
September 29, 2014 • Northern District of Mississippi
(662) 234-3351
OXFORD, MS—Felicia C. Adams,
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Johnnie
Sharp, Acting, Special Agent in Charge (SAC), Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), announced today that Jimmie Johnson, age 31, former Tutwiler, Mississippi,
Police Officer and former Chief of Police of Webb, Mississippi, was sentenced
by Chief U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock to serve twenty (20) months in
prison, followed by two (2) years of supervised release, after pleading guilty
of violating a federal civil rights statute. Johnson was also ordered to
complete fifty (50) hours of community service. In addition, Johnson agreed to
never seek future employment in law enforcement.
Johnson was indicted on October
31, 2013, for an incident which occurred in February of 2012, while he was
employed as a captain with the Tutwiler, Mississippi, Police Department. On
March 25, 2014, Johnson pled guilty to Count One of the indictment, which
stated that while acting under color of law, Johnson assaulted an individual by
striking him in the face with his fist, causing bodily injury, and thereby
willfully depriving that individual of the right to be free from the use of
unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 242.
U.S. Attorney Felicia C. Adams
stated, “Johnson’s actions were reprehensible. He abused his authority,
violated the law and the public trust. Today’s sentence demonstrates that such
actions undermine the rule of law and will not be tolerated. While the majority
of law enforcement officers are hardworking professionals who risk their lives
daily for our safety, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively
prosecuting those officers who break the law and violate the public trust.”
A/SAC Sharp stated: “Every citizen has the right to expect law enforcement
officers to act in accordance with the laws they have sworn to uphold. We
entrust law enforcement officers with certain powers and authority, which they
are expected to wield with the utmost integrity. This case proves that abuse of
that power and authority will not be tolerated.”
This case was investigated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Tallahatchie
County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office
for the Northern District of Mississippi.
This content has been
reproduced from its original source.
