By William Moore
Daily Journal
ABERDEEN – A second civil lawsuit against former Baldwyn Police Officer Greg Elder and the city of Baldwyn is set to go to trial next September in an Aberdeen federal courtroom.
In March, Joshua Grice filed a federal lawsuit against Elder alleging the white police officer kicked Grice, a black man, while he was handcuffed and on the ground in November 2014. In the lawsuit, Grice said the orbital bone in his face was fractured during the incident. Grice asked for a jury trial and unspecified damages.
The trial, which is expected to last four days, is slated to begin at 9:40 a.m. Sept. 19, 2016, before Chief Judge Sharion Aycock.
Late 2016 could be busy for Elder and the city of Baldwyn. A separate civil case against Elder is set to go to trial in August 2016, also before judge Aycock. Tony Price filed suit in U.S. District Court in February accusing Elder of harassing him and throwing him to the ground while handcuffed in May 2013.
In April 2014, Thomas Floyd and Johnny Steen filed a civil lawsuit against Elder and Police Chief Troy Agnew, claiming the men, along with other officers, harassed them and their business, Buschwacker Sports Bar. According to that lawsuit, Elder allegedly arrested Floyd on two separate occasions for being at his business after midnight, even though alcohol was not being served.
That case was settled for undisclosed terms, and the lawsuit was dismissed in April 2015.
Elder was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation when the Baldwyn Board of Aldermen terminated him on Dec. 2, 2014, for “misconduct by an officer.”
william.moore@journalinc.com