County settles lawsuit after high-speed chase

The deputy sheriff involved in a high-speed pursuit that critically injured a 13-year-old boy in early 2022 when a felon crashed through his bedroom said in court documents where the county settled a lawsuit for $475,000 that he called off the chase on Poplar Avenue due to weather conditions but stayed in the area looking for the vehicle, came upon the crash and was able to get the child medical aid.

The Neshoba County Board of Supervisors recently agreed to the settlement after the boy’s family alleged negligence in the lawsuit naming the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department, Neshoba County, and Brandon Rush, the deputy.

The incident on Feb. 2, 2022, critically injured Cullen McCoy.

Rush said in his report on Feb. 9, 2022, that, due to weather conditions, he canceled the pursuit on Poplar Avenue but continued to stay in the area to locate the vehicle.

Rush had pulled over Jeremy Henry, a convicted felon who fled the scene.

Rush said that he arrived at the crash site but Henry had fled on foot. He then walked around to the backyard, found the boy unresponsive, and called for EMS.

The Jackson law firm of Grenfell & Stevens filed a Notice of Claims in January alleging Rush and the Sheriff’s Department acted with reckless disregard and negligence by undertaking the high-speed chase in a residential area.

The attorneys submitted the claim to Chancery Clerk Guy Nowell, Sheriff Eric Clark, Rush, Board of Supervisors President Kevin Cumberland, and County Administrator Jeff Mayo.

They sought damages exceeding the Mississippi Tort Claims Act limit of $500,000 and stated McCoy’s damages were about $1 million.

Rush made a traffic stop on Beacon Street and Holland Avenue at about 10 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2022, because the vehicle driven by Henry had a missing front bumper and a headlight was out.

After asking for identification and proof of insurance, Rush smelled an odor of marijuana and Rush was advised by a dispatcher that Henry had multiple felony warrants from another state.

When asked several times to step out of the vehicle, Henry refused and then sped off.

Rush said that Henry turned left on Pecan Avenue while the light was red and ran through another red light at Main Street nearly missing another oncoming vehicle. The chase then continued onto Beech Street and then Poplar Avenue.

Where Poplar ends, Henry crashed through the McCoy residence at 531 Line Street critically injuring the boy who was sitting at his computer in his bedroom.

When EMS arrived, they found McCoy lying in the backyard unresponsive and bleeding from his mouth with a hole in his stomach.

McCoy was transported to a Jackson hospital and underwent a lengthy four-hour surgery. The impact severed his vena cava, a large vein that pumps blood up from the lower extremities of the body back up to the heart. 

After Henry’s vehicle was searched, Rush found a half-empty bottle of Hennessy brandy and a small clear plastic bag of used marijuana joints.

A black Nike bag was retrieved near the scene that contained 101 grams of marijuana, one gram of methamphetamine, black metallic knuckles, another bottle of brandy, a wallet containing $250 in cash, a Visa card, and another person’s New Mexico identification card, the authorities said.

Inside the wallet, they found a white pack of Buprenorphine and Naloxone sublingual film used to treat opioid dependence or addiction along with multiple clear bags.

A white backpack found inside the Nike bag contained gold and silver coins, rings, jewelry, three cell phones, credit cards, a game with a red case, and a set of scales.

Henry was apprehended by Rush two hours after the crash in the woods behind Trinity Baptist Church and transported to the Neshoba County Jail.

Henry was charged with felony pursuit, leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, improper equipment, reckless driving, no proof of insurance, disorderly conduct, and a seatbelt violation.

Rush resigned from the Sheriff’s Department in August but was re-hired by Clark in November, despite opposition by the Board of Supervisors.