Cops ignored ‘value of human life’ in beating of Black man, Mississippi indictment says
A pair of former Laurel, Mississippi, police officers face criminal charges in the brutal beating of a Black man, according to a new indictment.
A Jasper County grand jury charged Christopher Wade Robertson and Bryce Gilbert for their alleged role in the assault of local man James Barnett, district attorney Matt Sullivan announced Tuesday. The indictment alleges the officers “caused or attempted to cause serious bodily injury” to Barnett in the May 16, 2018, incident.
The charges are the result of “factual information and evidence” subpoenaed by the DA’s office, Sullivan told McClatchy News in a statement.
Barnett was reportedly beaten after fleeing a safety checkpoint in Laurel, leading officers on a 20-mile chase, WDAM reported. He eventually surrendered and followed officers’ demands to lay face-down on the ground, according to the station.
That’s when Barnett said Gilbert and Robertson proceeded to kick and beat him, authorities say.
According to the indictment, both men struck Barnett in the “head, face and/or upper body with a kick ... and by other means” that displayed an “extreme indifference to the value of human life.” The ex-officers are now charged with a felony count of aggravated assault.
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“The defendants are presumed innocent of these charges until proven guilty,” Sullivan said in a statement sent to McClatchy. “I am going to do my job and seek justice. We must all insure that those affected are treated fairly under our laws.”
Both Gilbert and Robertson were fired soon after the alleged assault on Barnett, with Robertson also facing a manslaughter charge in a separate incident, according to Sullivan’s office. Robertson is accused of “unnecessarily” killing Dominique Ann Henry in November 2019 as police say she attempted to steal a car.
The indictment alleges Robertson wasn’t acting in self-defense when he “shot two or more times into the side” of the car Henry was in.
“Robertson’s indictment and arrest results from an extensive law enforcement investigation and an in-depth analysis and review conducted by the DA’s Office,” prosecutors said.
Barnett felt his encounter with the officers was racially motivated and he filed a civil rights complaint against them in 2018, WDAM reported. The case was dismissed the following year after Barnett, Gilbert and Robertson reached a settlement.
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