A Rankin County deputy who was captured on camera punching an inmate in 2022 and fracturing the man’s jaw has been assigned as a school resource officer, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post, Mississippi Today reported.
Mississippi Today reported that a video that surfaced in January shows Jordan McQueary lunging and punching inmate Dustin Rives in the face, knocking him to the ground. The report said Rives suffered a fractured jaw, developed a deep infection and ultimately required surgery.
McQueary’s incident report, quoted by Mississippi Today, says Rives told a female guard, “Shut up, bitch, before I punch you in the face.” McQueary wrote, “Before inmate Rives could do anything kind of harm to another officer, I struck him and placed him on the ground.” Rives told the department he used the language but said it was directed at a male trusty, Mississippi Today reported.
David Fathi, director of the National Prison Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, who reviewed the incident for Mississippi Today, said punching a detainee can be justified only in self-defense, which he said was not supported by McQueary’s own report, Mississippi Today reported. Jason Dare, an attorney for the sheriff’s department, said the response was permissible under the Fourteenth Amendment and called it a “single slap” in response to threats and a raised fist.
Mississippi Today reported that at least nine inmates filed complaints or federal lawsuits alleging McQueary assaulted them; most complaints were filed without lawyers and nearly all were dismissed. A supervisor closed Rives’ complaint three days after it was filed, writing that the department provided a “satisfactory response,” including scheduling a medical appointment and informing Rives he could press charges after release, Mississippi Today reported. The supervisor’s report did not indicate whether McQueary was questioned or disciplined. The sheriff’s department honored McQueary in 2024 for his “outstanding” work, Mississippi Today said. McQueary did not respond to a request for comment.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
