Former Officer, Chief Sentenced to Prison

OXFORD, Miss. (Press Release) — 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, 31,
former Tutwiler, Miss., police officer and former Webb police chief, was sentenced by Chief U. S. District Judge Sharion Aycock to serve 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.