Damien Cameron’s family will get another chance to pursue a civil case after the Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed a Rankin County judge’s ruling that deputies could not be held responsible for the 2021 death, sending the lawsuit back for further proceedings. In a ruling Tuesday, the appeals court concluded that disputed facts still need to be considered about what deputies did during the encounter and whether that conduct should be treated as objectively reasonable under constitutional law.
The decision comes in the wake of the 2021 confrontation that involved Rankin County deputies Damien Cameron and deputies, including Deputy Hunter Elward and Deputy Luke Stickman, who arrived after an initial call tied to alleged break-in activity. According to testimony and statements described in the case, Elward said Cameron was unresponsive after deputies attempted to move him into a patrol vehicle, at which point deputies began CPR until an ambulance arrived, and Cameron was later declared dead at a hospital.
The appeals court’s core reasoning centered on whether qualified immunity applied when Cameron’s death is at issue. Appeals Court Judge Donna Barnes wrote that “We find there are genuine issues of material fact whether the deputies’ actions were objectively reasonable and entitled them to qualified immunity,” laying out why the earlier dismissal could not stand.
Barnes also pointed to what she described as clearly established law about physical force used on a suspect who was already on the ground. She concluded that “there is clearly established law that applying pressure or body-weight force to a prone suspect could constitute excessive force under certain circumstances,” framing the question as one that depends on disputed details of what deputies did and how much pressure was applied.
The conflict in the evidence described in the appeals materials also fed into arguments made during the appeal. Cameron’s lawyer, Trent Walker of Jackson, told the judges that hemorrhaging found in Cameron’s neck was consistent with Deputy Stickman “putting a knee on his neck in such a way to choke him,” which Walker said violated the sheriff’s department’s written policy barring anything that restricts a person’s breathing.
During the appeal, Ridgeland attorney Jason Dare, who represents the sheriff’s department, argued that Cameron’s death appeared to be an overdose. A dissenting judge, Amy Lassitter St. Pé, wrote separately that the Rankin County judge’s decision should be affirmed and that the record “does not support a finding that Deputies Elward or Stickman used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”
The civil case began after a Rankin County circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, citing sovereign immunity. The family appealed that dismissal, and the appeals court heard arguments on Nov. 12, according to the story.
The events surrounding Cameron’s death have also been described alongside a separate set of federal charges and criminal convictions involving Rankin County deputies. The Associated Press report says several deputies and a local police officer are in prison for conduct in what the government investigation described as the “Goon Squad” case, which included separate incidents of torture, and that Deputy Hunter Elward pleaded guilty in connection with beating a handcuffed suspect. The AP story also says that Elward is serving 20 years in prison.
Cameron’s family said he struggled to breathe during the 2021 encounter, and the state medical examiner ruled the death “undetermined” after finding meth in Cameron’s system and citing “multiple subcutaneous and soft tissue hemorrhages.” Cameron’s mother, Monica Lee, said after learning of Tuesday’s decision that she was smiling and that she felt “a little bit better that maybe we can get justice for my son.”
After Tuesday’s appellate ruling, the Mississippi sheriff’s department can still seek further review, including asking for a rehearing. If that request is denied, the department can appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, meaning the litigation may continue even as the appeals court revives the case for fact consideration in Rankin County.