Mississippi settles civil case against former trooper
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) – Five defendants who say a former state trooper violated their civil rights will split $235,000.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the two sides spent more than seven hours Tuesday hammering out the settlement with the state over the actions of trooper Chris Hughes and former Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Michael Berthay.
Hughes, Mississippi’s 1997 Trooper of the Year, pleaded guilty in 2013 to assaulting a female prisoner at the Lee County Jail in 2007. He served 33 months in a federal prison in Texas and was released in January.
The civil trial was slated to begin April 25 in Oxford.
The settlement will be split between John Hawn, Bryan Lindsey, Heather Seawright, Ronnie Horton and Matilda Moore. All five alleged that Hughes assaulted them after they were arrested.
