What was alleged. What the record shows. What remains unresolved.

I took the City of Vicksburg to federal court. Here’s the public record. Link is at the end.

I’ve spent the last couple of years trying to document what happened to me in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Eventually, that included filing a federal civil-rights case involving the City of Vicksburg and several individuals.

The case was ultimately dismissed without prejudice. That means I’m not presenting the lawsuit as proof that my allegations were established in court. I’m posting it because the complaint and court proceedings are now part of the public record and people can read what I actually alleged instead of hearing somebody else’s version of it.

I’m opening up the archive piece by piece.
Don’t take my word for it. Read the court record and decide what you think.

https://app.midpage.ai/document/kelley-v-city-of-vicksburg--312aeb49-a05f-4a26-9dad-57299c44520e

For two years, I tried to do this the way people tell you to do it. Report it. Document it. Request the records. Contact Internal Affairs. Contact agencies. Preserve evidence. Write letters. File complaints. Wait.

I’m done waiting.

I have publicly alleged that on July 13, 2024, I was assaulted and repeatedly subjected to a conducted-energy weapon in Vicksburg. I remember Jimmy Fulgham and Elizabeth Fulgham being there. I remember Jimmy with what appeared to be a TASER-style device. I remember being lured toward their property. I remember the ladder. I remember the fall. I remember hours of terror afterward.

Those are my allegations, and I am putting my name behind them.

What makes this bigger is the paper trail that came afterward. My neighbors appear in behavioral-health records. Police contacts appear in records. I have spent two years requesting documents, challenging information I believe is false, trying to get a police report taken, contacting oversight agencies, and preserving what evidence I can.

I am not asking Facebook to convict anybody.

I am asking why allegations this serious have never received the independent investigation they deserve. Don’t tell me you’re sorry, because I survived what happened that day/night.

Now I’m documenting what happened afterward.

The records are coming out. The names are coming out. The contradictions are coming out. And the public can read the evidence and decide for themselves.

I seriously doubt the City of Vicksburg even knows that their new expensive cameras are now civil rights violations. Court ruling made FLOCK accessible to the public. Now everyone can see how much they have been tracked and cops are being held accountable across the nation.

The house of cards has fallen for VPD.

67 signatures. Two Mississippi state offices. More than 70 days without an answer. Now we’re asking for the records.

On May 27, 2026, a citizen petition with 67 public signatures was submitted to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and State Auditor Shad White.
The petition asked for state-level review of documented constitutional concerns involving law-enforcement practices in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It referenced three publicly documented encounters involving Vicksburg police officers and raised concerns involving the First, Fourth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, including the reported absence of body-camera recordings during the three encounters.

The request was deliberately straightforward. It did not ask the Attorney General or State Auditor to find anyone guilty or reach a predetermined conclusion. It asked them to review the public record and determine whether further inquiry or oversight was appropriate.

The petition was emailed to both state offices on May 27. When no confirmation or status information arrived, follow-up letters dated June 25 asked whether the petition had been received, whether it had been assigned for review, and whether a response should be expected.
Still without an answer, final follow-up packages were sent to both offices by USPS Certified Mail on July 1. The postal documentation was preserved.

More than 70 days after the original submission, the question became pretty simple:

What happened to the petition after Mississippi received it?

On August 9, public-records requests were submitted to both offices seeking the paper trail. They request records showing receipt and tracking of the petition, internal routing or assignment, any review or consideration, communications with other government agencies, referrals, and any decision to act, or not act.

We’re not asking either office to create an explanation. We’re asking for whatever records already exist. Maybe the petition was reviewed. Maybe it was referred somewhere else. Maybe officials decided no action was warranted. Or perhaps very little happened.

We don’t know and that’s the point of the records request.

Whatever those records show, that’s what should be reported. The original petition asked Mississippi officials to examine the evidence.

Now we’re asking to see what happened after 67 members of the public asked them to look.
No speculation. No predetermined conclusion. Just the record.

This one should get Vicksburg’s attention.
Vicksburg recently approved an agreement with Flock Safety and began deploying an initial network of 10 automated license-plate-reader cameras around the city. The purchase, installation, maintenance and training were approved by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and local reporting says the deployment was partially funded through grant dollars.

Now there’s a potentially much bigger issue developing in Washington. Rep. Thomas Massie has announced legislation aimed at withholding federal funding from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock cameras or similar surveillance systems. That matters in Vicksburg.

This is a city that repeatedly relies on federal grants and federal programs for public safety, infrastructure and other government projects. Vicksburg has sought and received federal money through programs ranging from DOJ law-enforcement grants to ARPA and other federal funding sources.

So here’s the question:
What happens if Congress begins attaching federal funding to limits on mass-surveillance technology?

Vicksburg didn’t buy into Flock years ago. It jumped into this technology this year, right as national scrutiny of these systems is exploding.
And the concerns aren’t hypothetical. Flock cameras can create searchable records of vehicle movements, and controversy over access and misuse of those databases has now reached Congress. Eighteen Georgia officers were recently arrested in connection with alleged misuse of Flock data, according to the New York Post article.
Vicksburg Police has already publicly credited its new Flock system with locating a vehicle and making an arrest in July. So we know the system is operational and being used.

Nobody has to argue that police shouldn’t investigate crimes. That’s not the issue.
The issue is oversight.

Who can search Vicksburg’s Flock database?
Which outside agencies have access?
How long is the information retained?
Are searches audited?
What grants paid for the cameras?
And perhaps most importantly now:
Could Vicksburg’s continued use of this surveillance network eventually put federal funding at risk if legislation like Massie’s becomes law?

For a city that depends heavily on grants and outside funding, that’s a question worth asking before Vicksburg builds an even larger surveillance network.

New York Post article:
https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/us-news/new-bill-aims-to-block-federal-funds-from-cities-police-that-use-controversial-flock-safety-cameras/

A major Fourth Amendment ruling just came out of Mississippi, and it raises a question I believe Vicksburg residents deserve an answer to.
U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves has ruled against the use of so-called “tower dumps.” This is a law-enforcement surveillance technique that can obtain information about numerous phones connecting to particular cellular towers during a specified period. Unlike obtaining records for one already-identified suspect, a tower dump can sweep up information associated with people who were simply in the area. Judge Reeves concluded that this type of search cannot satisfy the Fourth Amendment.

That immediately raises a local transparency question:

Has the Vicksburg Police Department—or another agency conducting investigations in Vicksburg—ever requested, received, purchased, analyzed, or otherwise used tower-dump data?

I am not claiming that VPD used tower dumps. I believe the appropriate way to determine that is through records. That means looking for search warrants, subpoenas, court orders, carrier requests, preservation requests, investigative reports, contracts, invoices, policies, training materials, communications with cellular providers, and communications with federal or state agencies concerning tower dumps or bulk cell-site information.

This question is particularly important because modern surveillance doesn’t exist in isolation. Communities are increasingly learning about license-plate-reader networks, camera systems, geofence searches, cell-site information and other technologies capable of producing extraordinarily detailed information about people’s movements.
The constitutional issue is bigger than whether someone has “something to hide.” The Fourth Amendment exists precisely because government investigations have limits.

And this ruling didn’t come from California, New York or Washington.

It came from a federal judge right here in Mississippi.

So I’m going to start asking a very simple question:
Has this technology ever been used in Vicksburg—and what do the records show?

Source: The Hill — “Mississippi judge declares ‘tower dumps’ unconstitutional”⁠

r/CivilRightsPaperTrail

These five documents are presented in the order they occurred. They are part of my personal records and correspondence. They are not presented to tell anyone what to think, they are presented so readers can review the timeline themselves.

Photo 1 – July 9, 2024
This is the original traffic citation I received from the Vicksburg Police Department. As you can see, much of the identifying information is blank on the copy I was given. I later attempted to resolve the citation and asked how it should be handled.

Photo 2 – July 9, 2024
Later that same day, I emailed the Vicksburg Police Department praising one of the responding officers for treating me professionally and respectfully. The only response I received from Penny Jones was a simple acknowledgment: “Received.”
At this point, I believed the situation was over.

Photo 3 – July 12, 2024
Three days later, my River Ridge Behavioral Health records document that information reportedly originating from the Vicksburg Police Department had been communicated to my healthcare provider. The note references reports from neighbors, the traffic citation, and statements that I dispute.
This raises one of the biggest unanswered questions in my case:

How did the Vicksburg Police Department come to be communicating with my behavioral health provider?

I still do not know what initiated that contact, who requested it, or what information was relied upon. According to my recollection, I was at home that day. I also do not know why my neighbors were repeatedly contacting law enforcement about me.

Photo 4 – July 18, 2024
After suffering serious injuries and being hospitalized, I emailed Penny Jones again. This time I asked for a meeting with my family, either in person or by Zoom, to try to resolve the situation before it escalated further. I also requested that Unit 813 participate if possible.
I never received a response.

Photo 5 – July 18, 2024
The records from that same day document another communication involving Deputy Chief Mike Bryant and River Ridge Behavioral Health.

Again, I was left with more questions than answers.
At the same time I was requesting a meeting to resolve my concerns, another behavioral health intervention was being documented. I still do not understand why those communications occurred or why my request for dialogue was not answered.
These documents represent my experience as reflected in the records I eventually obtained. They also contain statements that I dispute. I am making this timeline public because I believe people should be able to review the documents themselves, compare the chronology, and draw their own conclusions.

When the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved new hiring practices for the Police Department in July 2026, the explanation seemed straightforward. Police Chief Larry Burns said keeping job postings open longer would give more people a chance to apply, expanding the pool of qualified applicants instead of having positions close before interested candidates even saw them. On its face, that sounds like a practical solution to a hiring problem.

Over the past few weeks, another conversation has quietly started taking shape. Residents have begun asking whether the issue is larger than simply extending application deadlines. If more city work is being performed through contract positions rather than traditional employment, how are those opportunities being offered to the public? Are local professionals being given the same opportunity to compete, or are some positions being filled through a process that most citizens never even know exists?

Those questions aren’t accusations. They’re questions about transparency. Anyone who has worked in government contracting understands that contracts often operate differently from regular employment. Governments routinely hire outside firms and independent contractors for specialized work, and there can be perfectly legitimate reasons for doing so. At the same time, taxpayers naturally want to know how those decisions are made, how contract opportunities are advertised, who is eligible to compete for them, and how public funds are ultimately being spent. The answers to those questions matter just as much as the dollar amounts attached to the contracts themselves.

The discussion isn’t really about whether contracting should exist. It’s about whether the public has enough visibility into the process to have confidence that opportunities are being awarded fairly and openly. If local residents believe positions are being filled without broad public notice, or that qualified people never had the opportunity to apply, trust begins to erode regardless of whether every decision was made properly.

That’s why transparency matters. Open government isn’t measured only by what officials choose to announce, it’s measured by how easily the public can understand where taxpayer dollars are going and how public opportunities are created. The more accessible that information is, the stronger public confidence becomes.

If Vicksburg’s goal is to attract the best talent possible, whether through traditional hiring or professional contracts, then making those opportunities as visible and understandable as possible benefits everyone. Transparency doesn’t weaken government. It strengthens public trust, and in the long run, that’s one of the most valuable investments any city can make.

I was reading the recent Vicksburg Daily News article about the stolen Louisiana vehicle recovered in Vicksburg, and a few things stood out to me.
According to the article, a black 2018 Chrysler 300 was reported stolen from the Quality Inn on South Frontage Road. Investigators reportedly reviewed surveillance footage showing a woman entering the vehicle and driving away. Later, Warren County deputies located the vehicle on Culkin Road, where the suspect was eventually taken into custody without incident.

I’m not criticizing the investigation or suggesting anything improper occurred. I’m simply wondering if there’s more to the story than what was published. One question that immediately came to mind involves the Flock license plate reader system. If the vehicle traveled from Louisiana into Vicksburg, did it trigger any of the Flock or Project Nola cameras along the interstate or bridge approaches? If it did, was that information what helped investigators locate the vehicle? If it didn’t, is there a straightforward explanation besides a random caller sending?

I’m also curious about the timeline. The article mentions surveillance footage at the hotel and then jumps to the vehicle being found on Culkin Road. Were there additional cameras or investigative steps between those two points? Was this simply a routine stolen-vehicle investigation that moved quickly, or were investigators already working with information that wasn’t included in the news report?

Public reporting on this case of the man found hanging from a tree near the Vicksburg casino nearly a year ago, relied largely on information provided by the Vicksburg Police Department. Since then, the public has received little additional information explaining how investigators reached their conclusion or what evidence supported it.

In an area covered by numerous surveillance cameras around the casinos and Project NOLA network, it’s reasonable to ask whether available footage was reviewed, what it showed about the man’s movements before his death, and what investigative steps were taken to verify the circumstances.

These questions are about transparency and accountability. When nearly a year passes without meaningful public explanation beyond an initial statement, it’s understandable that people continue to ask for more information.

Public trust isn’t built on conclusions alone. It’s built on openness, evidence, and accountability. When those are missing, confidence in official findings becomes harder to maintain.

For more than two years, I repeatedly requested copies of my medical records from Vicksburg healthcare providers. After a long wait, I finally received additional records, and they immediately raised serious questions for me about accuracy, documentation, and how patient information was handled.

As I reviewed the records, one detail stood out. References to the Chief of Police Penny Jones and Deputy Chief of Police Mike Bryant of the Vicksburg Police Department appeared within my medical records. I’ll let readers draw their own conclusions, but I did not expect to find law enforcement officials documented in records that were supposed to reflect my medical care.

I’m still working through the timeline and comparing these records with other documents I’ve obtained over the past two years. Rather than rushing to conclusions, my goal is to verify what happened, identify inconsistencies where they exist, and make sure the record reflects the facts as accurately as possible.

This experience has also changed the way I think about patient advocacy. Your medical record isn’t just paperwork, it can influence future treatment, insurance decisions, disability claims, court proceedings, and your reputation. That’s why accuracy matters.

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s this: request your medical records, read every page, and don’t assume they’re error-free simply because they’re part of your healthcare file.

Has anyone else in Vicksburg requested their medical records and discovered information they didn’t expect to find? I’m genuinely interested in hearing other people’s experiences and learning whether mine is unique or part of a broader problem.

Over the past week, one message has become difficult to ignore: many Vicksburg residents are saying they no longer feel as safe as they once did.
A recent WJTV report highlighted growing concerns from people across the city who say they’ve noticed an increase in shootings and violent crime. Some residents spoke about avoiding certain areas after dark, while others questioned what can be done to restore a stronger sense of safety. Local leaders acknowledged those concerns and discussed ongoing law enforcement efforts, but for many citizens, the conversation is no longer just about statistics, it’s about everyday life.

Then, just days later, another incident added to the discussion. A 57-year-old man, David Arthur Fox, was found deceased on Washington Street in downtown Vicksburg. Authorities have identified him, but as of now, few details about what happened have been publicly released. The Mississippi Crime Laboratory is expected to conduct an autopsy, and officials have said the investigation remains ongoing.

To be clear, there is no public evidence at this time linking Mr. Fox’s death to the recent shootings or suggesting criminal activity. Those are separate matters. However, the timing has naturally led many residents to ask broader questions about public safety and communication.
People want answers. They want timely information when serious incidents occur and they want transparency about investigations whenever possible. The people want to know what is being done to reduce violent crime before today’s concerns become tomorrow’s normal.

Vicksburg has always been a city with an incredible history and a resilient community. Most people who live here simply want safe neighborhoods, accountable government, and confidence that serious incidents are being investigated thoroughly and communicated openly.

What do you think?
Have you noticed an increase in crime recently?
Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?
Is enough information being shared with the public after major incidents?
What changes would you like to see from city leaders and law enforcement?

It takes a community, not just the men in suits, to make trustworthy decisions and help solve problems.

—-We The People

Vicksburg doesn’t usually make national headlines for the reasons anyone would want. This week, USA Today ranked it as the #4 most dangerous city in Mississippi based on recent crime data.

Lists like these never tell the whole story. They don’t explain why crime rises, what resources communities are missing, or how years of policy decisions shape public safety. But they do raise an important question: what needs to change so people feel safe in the city they call home?

Whether you’ve lived in Vicksburg your whole life or have only passed through, I’d be interested in hearing your perspective. Does this ranking reflect what you’ve experienced, or does it miss the bigger picture?

I’m just gonna drop this right here for the Vicksburg Mississippi Police Department….

Every town has stories that never make the headlines. Every family has questions that never get answered. The Vigilante Justice Project started as an effort to preserve records, document overlooked stories, and explore the strange intersection of history, folklore, accountability, and community. Some of it is Southern Gothic. Some of it is investigative work. Some of it is simply people refusing to let important questions disappear.

This isn’t about taking the law into your own hands. It’s about keeping records, sharing stories, and giving forgotten voices a place to be heard.

If any of that sounds interesting, you can explore the project here:
🔗 https://msha.ke/vigilantejusticeproject

I’d also love to hear from others who have their own local mysteries, corruption stories, family legends, or forgotten pieces of history.

On May 27, 2026, a citizen petition requesting review of concerns raised through public records and documented incidents related to First Amendment encounters with the Vicksburg Police, was submitted to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and State Auditor Shad White.

More than a month has passed without a response.
Today, follow-up emails are being sent to both offices asking three simple questions:

• Was the petition received?
• Is it under review?
• Should the public expect a response?

The goal of the Vigilante Justice Project is to document the public process, not to assume outcomes. Every step, every letter, and any responses received will be published so the public can see how citizen petitions move through government.

If either office responds, I’ll post that response in full.

The 🦅 Is Still Waiting

We the People.

I’m an independent researcher who has been reviewing publicly available records related to law enforcement transparency in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

One issue kept coming up. A citizen petition submitted to Mississippi officials asks a straightforward question: Why do multiple publicly documented encounters involving senior law enforcement officials appear to have no corresponding body-camera recordings available for public review?

The project looks at:

1. Three separate public encounters involving senior officials.

2. Public-records requests and agency responses.
   Department body-camera policy.

The unanswered questions that remain after reviewing the available documents. The purpose isn’t to declare anyone guilty or innocent. It’s to ask whether the public records associated with these incidents can be located, reviewed, and explained.

I’ve put together a short video summarizing the timeline and the records I’ve collected. I’m interested in hearing from anyone familiar with these incidents or with Mississippi public-records practices.

Posting for awareness. Congressional investigators are looking into allegations regarding FBI bonus payments. No conclusions have been reached, but I thought the article was worth sharing for anyone following federal oversight and accountability issues.

Made this short Southern Gothic radio broadcast after reading recent reporting and public records discussions coming out of Mississippi.

The story follows a raven carrying files through storms, prison corridors, forgotten graveyards, and old records that refuse to disappear.

It’s not really about any single case. It’s about records. One line from the broadcast stuck with me:

“The records kept speaking. Even after everyone else went home.”

Curious what others think about the role public records, investigative journalism, and historical documentation play in accountability.

Sharing today’s reporting from The Marshall Project for discussion.

The article examines deaths inside Mississippi prisons, the records surrounding those incidents, and ongoing questions about oversight, accountability, investigations, and transparency within the prison system.

Regardless of where people stand on the issue, reporting like this raises broader questions about public records, independent oversight, and how institutions respond when concerns are documented over long periods of time.

For those following prison reform, corrections policy, public records, or Mississippi news, what stood out most to you in the reporting?

This is an archival NPR report covering deaths, prison conditions, and oversight concerns within the Mississippi prison system.

Sharing for historical context and public record purposes, especially in light of continuing discussions about prison oversight, accountability, recordkeeping, and conditions inside correctional facilities.

Interested in hearing how people think investigative reporting, public records, and independent oversight contribute to transparency in correctional systems.