<img width="1024" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw – 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="47506" data-permalink="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/kristen-clarke_todd-gee_ap23312717643054_ap-photo-rogelio-v-solis/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis.png?fit=2000%2C1333&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2000,1333" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Kristen-Clarke_Todd-Gee_AP23312717643054_AP-Photo-Rogelio-V.-Solis" data-image-description="

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, left, listens as U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi, addresses a reporter’s question during a news conference, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Jackson, Miss., that it has opened an investigation into the City of Lexington, Miss., and the Lexington Police Department, focusing on the police department’s use of force and its stops, searches and arrests. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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The U.S. Department of Justice inquiry into the Lexington Police Department uncovered violations of civil rights and a persistent culture of racist, extractive, abusive policing in the small Mississippi town. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (left) and U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee (right) announced the findings today. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

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The predatory, for-profit policing of the Lexington Police Department has repeatedly violated the civil rights of residents, making arrests equal to roughly a fourth of the entire town’s population and burdening them with fines and debts of over $1.7 million.

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