Second person arrested in connection with Tupelo assault
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A second juvenile is arrested in connection with the videotaped assault of a mentally disabled adult that was posted on social media.
Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka says this is the final arrest in connection with the case. On Sunday, April 25, Jeff Strickland, a well-known member of the Tupelo community, was assaulted at Oak Creek Apartments. That assault was videotaped and posted to social media.
One juvenile was arrested earlier this week. The incident sparked heated discussions on social media about what the law requires when someone witnesses a crime. Mississippi law does not compel someone to report a crime if they are a bystander.
Attorney Casey Lott, managing partner of the Langston and Lott Law Firm, said collecting civil damages may be tough.
“There is no civil liability unless there is some type of special relationship between the victim and the person you are attempting to impose civil liability on, and a special relationship is kind of broadly construed. You think of things like, if there is, you are at a hotel, or you are at someone’s place of business, if the duty is imposed on possessors of land that is open to the public,” said Lott.
Lott encourages anyone who witnesses a crime to call 9 1 1 and let the police handle the investigation and follow up.
