Jury Awards $65,000 to Former Tupelo Bailiff

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) — A federal court jury deliberates more than seven hours before awarding a former Tupelo police court bailiff $65,000 — $35,000 in back pay and $30,000 for mental anguish — in damages.

Jim Waide, the attorney for Letisha Mitchell says he’ll ask the city to reinstate Mitchell and investigate problems the case revealed about the city’s human resources operations.

“She feels vindicated by the verdict. I think she deserves her job back. And I am going to ask the mayor and new administration to investigate how the human resources department is operating…they need a house cleaning over there,” Waide said.

Mitchell claimed she injured her back when she discovered a 250-pound man hanging by a sheet in a court holding cell and tried to free him.

She argued the city didn’t do enough to reassign her duties following the injury and then fired her from the $40,000 job in retaliation for her fling a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.

The jury ruled in her favor on the retaliation claim but not her claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The city can appeal the verdict.

Mitchell currently is making $11,000 a year as a teacher assistant in Shannon.

The eight-person jury heard five days of testimony in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen before returning a verdict at about midnight Friday.