The Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled that a Rankin County judge must revisit a civil lawsuit tied to the 2021 death of Damien Cameron, overturning a decision that left deputies with no blame. In a Tuesday ruling, Appeals Court Judge Donna Barnes revived the lawsuit and sent it back for further proceedings in Rankin County Circuit Court, saying the case turns on disputed facts about the use of force and whether qualified immunity should apply.
Barnes wrote that the court found “genuine issues of material fact whether the deputies’ actions were objectively reasonable and entitled them to qualified immunity.” The appeals court also pointed to what it described as clearly established law, including that “applying pressure or body-weight force to a prone suspect could constitute excessive force under certain circumstances.” The ruling means the circuit court will have to consider the reasonableness question rather than dismissing the case at that stage.
The dispute arose after Cameron’s family sued in 2022, arguing that Rankin County deputies used excessive force before his death. A Rankin County circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the deputies had sovereign immunity, according to the appeals-court record described in the coverage. The family appealed, and the Court of Appeals heard arguments on Nov. 12.
At the appeal, Trent Walker of Jackson, who represented Cameron’s family, told the judges that hemorrhaging found in Cameron’s neck was consistent with Deputy Luke Stickman “putting a knee on his neck in such a way to choke him.” Walker argued the conduct violated the sheriff’s department’s written policy, which bars restrictions that impede a person’s breathing, and he said Cameron was unarmed and not trying to harm deputies.
The sheriff’s department, through Ridgeland attorney Jason Dare, argued to the appellate panel that Cameron’s death appeared to be an overdose. Cameron’s family and the sheriff’s department therefore presented competing explanations at the merits level—one centered on alleged force and injuries, the other on a drug-related cause.
The background to the case includes testimony about what happened during the deputies’ encounter on July 26, 2021. Coverage described Deputy Hunter Elward responding after he was told by state investigators that the owner of a home identified the suspect as Cameron following reported vandalism. When Elward arrived at Cameron’s home, Elward spoke with Cameron’s mother, Monica Lee, and Lee later described telling the deputy not to hurt her son.
In accounts recounted in court proceedings and filings cited in the reporting, Cameron ran after Elward arrived and was then struck and tackled. Elward described that Cameron resisted and that Elward ultimately sat on Cameron’s back until Stickman arrived to help handcuff him. Other family accounts described a deputy on Cameron’s neck and another on his back, and Lee later said she believed her son could not breathe repeatedly and that he became unresponsive after deputies left him in the patrol vehicle and began CPR.
A state medical examiner ruled Cameron’s death “undetermined,” according to the reporting, after finding meth in Cameron’s system and identifying multiple subcutaneous and soft tissue hemorrhages. The coverage also said three pathologists who reviewed records in the case told Mississippi Today and The New York Times that his death should have been ruled a homicide.
The appeals court ruling came with a dissent. Judge Amy Lassitter St. Pé wrote that the Rankin County judge’s decision should be upheld, stating that the record did not support a finding that Deputies Elward or Stickman used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Tuesday’s decision does not necessarily end the litigation. The sheriff’s department may request a rehearing, and if that is denied, it can appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. After learning of the result, Lee said she was “smiling” and felt “a little bit better that maybe we can get justice for my son.”