Ex-Capitol Police Officer Charged in Civil Rights Case

JACKSON, Miss. – by Mina Corpuz A former Capitol Police officer has been accused of violating the civil rights of a handcuffed man whose head he slammed into the hood of a car and kicked in 2022. 

Jeffery Walker, a former officer with the Flex Unit, was in federal court Wednesday. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for one charge of deprivation of rights under the color of law. 

The person Walker is accused of injuring is identified in court records as E.S. 

On July 27, 2022, Walker was on duty and driving an unmarked car when he tried to stop E.S.’s car, but E.S. did not pull over and led Walker on a chase, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. 

Three unnamed Jackson Police Department officers joined in the chase until Walker cut E.S. off, which caused Walker to hit a tree and E.S. to swerve into a yard. Walker and the JPD officers approached E.S.’s car, pulled him out, put him on the ground and handcuffed him. 

The indictment states Walker grabbed E.S. by the back of the neck and slammed his head into the car hood, before putting him back on the ground and kicking him in the head and face. 

Magistrate Judge Andrew Harris approved an unsecured $10,000 bond for Walker. 

Walker’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2025 with U.s. District Judge Henry Wingate. 

The former Capitol Police officer also faces an excessive force lawsuit filed last year stemming from an incident that happened weeks after the 2022 incident. 

On Aug. 14, 2022, Sherita Harris was a passenger in a car driven by her friend. As the car waited for a traffic signal to turn green on State and Amite streets, the lawsuit alleges Walker and Capitol Police Officer Michael Rhinewalt approached the car from behind, turned on its emergency lights and directed the car to pull over. 

Shortly after the driver pulled over, Rhinewalt began to shoot into the car, according to the lawsuit. The driver fled to avoid bullets, but Harris was hit in the head and slumped over in her seat.

She was taken to the hospital where she had surgery to remove bullet fragments from her head, according to the lawsuit. The injuries left her with lingering issues including with her speech and cognitive abilities. 

As of December, the lawsuit remains active. The lawsuit seeks $3 million in damages, and the case is expected to go to trial in October 2025. 

The officers offered a different account. 

Walker was called as a witness in a September 2022 preliminary hearing for Sinatra Jordan, the driver of the car, who has been charged with fleeing law enforcement, assault of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana. 

NBC News reported about Walker’s testimony in which he said the car ran a red light and took off after the officers got out of their cruisers. Walker and Rhinewalt chased the car and said they heard gunshots coming from it and saw items thrown out of the window. 

The car crashed into a curb and they saw the driver with a black object in his hands, prompting them to return fire. 

Jordan remains at the Raymond Detention Center and is expected to go to trial in March 2025.

Mississippi Today first published this article. The Vicksburg Daily News republishes it here under a Creative Commons license.