A Sidon man is suing Leflore County, alleging a sheriff’s deputy beat him up on New Year’s Eve.
But authorities have previously said Charles Cross Jr. had already been injured in a fight before the deputy got to Melvin’s One Stop.
Cross, who is seeking unspecified damages in the case, filed the lawsuit May 23 in Leflore County Circuit Court.
His attorney is Carlos Moore of Grenada, who has frequently represented clients suing law enforcement in Leflore County.
The lawsuit names Leflore County, Deputy Eddie Cates and Sheriff Ricky Banks as defendants.
The incident happened on Dec. 31, 2011, outside Melvin’s One Stop on U.S. 49 South in Sidon.
Banks said in January that Cross already had stitches above his eye from a fall the night before and that the wound was reopened during a fight with another man before the deputy arrived on the scene.
Banks could not be reached for comment this morning.
Cross, 29, said in January that he was involved a “little tussle” at the beginning of the evening with his sister’s boyfriend. The “little tussle” was described in the lawsuit as a “brief altercation.” The lawsuit states that both Cross and the boyfriend were not injured as a result of the fight.
The Sheriff’s Department was called.
According to the filing, Cross was in the process of being handcuffed by Cates when he requested to call his mother.
At that point, the filing alleges, Cates “violently attacked” Cross, temporarily knocking him unconscious.
Cross was taken by ambulance to Greenwood Leflore Hospital and treated and released.
Cross was never charged with a crime, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that Cates violated Cross’s civil rights because Cates didn’t have a reason to arrest Cross.
According to the lawsuit, Cross now suffers from “emotional problems, and mental anxiety, as well as, bodily pain and suffering.”
The case bears similarities with a lawsuit Moore filed in 2010 on behalf of Alfredo Prado.
Prado claimed a deputy beat him up. Banks said at the time that Prado had gotten into a fight at a nightclub.
Moore backed out of the case and secured a $1,600 lien against Prado for unpaid attorney fees; a federal magistrate dismissed the case.
Two other Leflore County Sheriff’s Department cases — involving Moore clients Howard Hays and Justin Nobles — were settled out of court in 2011.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
