Former Tate County Sheriff's Deputy Indicted for Using Excessive Force Against a Pre-Trial Detainee

A federal grand jury in Oxford, Mississippi, returned a one-count indictment charging former Tate County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy T. Doss, 62, with unlawfully assaulting J.W., a pre-trial detainee at the Tate County Jail, with a dangerous weapon on Jan. 27, 2011.  The indictment charges that Doss’s actions resulted in bodily injury to the victim, J.W.

Doss is charged with violating J.W.’s right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law.  The indictment alleges that Doss unlawfully assaulted J.W. by deploying a Taser electronic control device into J.W.’s back while he was in the custody of the Tate County Sheriff’s Office. 

If convicted, Doss faces a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment.  An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Jackson Division of the Federal Bureau Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Coleman of the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.