A Caledonia man has filed a federal suit against Lowndes County and two of its animal control officers following a dispute with the county over the man’s care of his horses.
Dennis Wilkerson’s suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen. It asks for compensatory and punitive damages for the county and its employees’ violation of Wilkerson’s First, Fourth and 14th Amendments.
The suit claims that Bobby Reeves and Steve Scott, two Lowndes County animal control officers, appeared before Justice Court Judge Chris Hemphill in March 2014 to secure an order to seize horses owned by Wilkerson from his property. The suit claims that during that appearance Reeves provided false statements concerning the condition of the animals and withheld information received from a veterinarian who disputed that the animals were in poor condition.
Hemphill granted the seizure order. Reeves and Scott served the order and seized the horses, although the animals were not taken from Wilkerson’s property, pending a hearing, according to the lawsuit.
The suit says that at that hearing, held on May 8, 2014, the justice court judge ordered the horses be returned to Wilkerson, finding that Wilkerson had not intentionally neglected the horses and that he was able to provide adequate care of the animals.
The suit claims Reeves and Scott pursued the seizure because they were still angry over an argument with Wilkerson when the two animal control officers originally arrived on his property after an anonymous call concerning the horses.
The suit claims that action was a breach of Wilkerson’s First Amendment right to “protest police action,” and violated his Fourth Amendment right to protest against unlawful seizure and his 14th Amendment right of due process. The suit says the county’s action damaged his person, property and reputation.
Wilkerson is being represented by Tupelo attorney Victor Fleitas.
County attorney Tim Hudson could not be reached for comment Monday.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.