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A Black FedEx driver is taking legal action nearly a year after two white men shot at him in a Mississippi neighborhood, according to The Mississippi Free Press.
D'Monterrio Gibson, 25, filed a $5 million federal civil lawsuit on Friday (January 20) after he accused Brandon and Gregory Case of chasing him while he was delivering packages in Brookhaven. The father-son duo is named as defendants in the massive lawsuit alongside FedEx and Brookhaven Police Chief Kenny Collins.
The Cases were indicted by a Lincoln County grand jury in November for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and shooting into a motor vehicle. Brandon Case was arraigned on January 4 and plead not guilty to the charges. No word on when Gregory Case will be due in court. Both men are currently out on bond.
Gibson said his delivery truck was riddled with gunshot holes after the scary incident on January 24, 2022. When FedEx asked Gibson to keep driving the dangerous route, he initially declined and was put on unpaid leave, according to Gibson's attorney, Carlos Moore. The company later reinstated his pay.
“We believe FedEx acted as they did based on racial discrimination,” Moore told reporters on Monday (January 24). “We don’t believe they would’ve sent a white man back to the job the very next day had two Blacks attacked him on the job.”
Collins was named in the lawsuit for obstructing justice and adding "unnecessary delay in presenting the file to the district attorney so that the Cases could be indicted." Gibson also accused the police chief of assaulting him during a peaceful rally following the shooting.
FedEx provided a statement to the Mississippi Free Press in response to the lawsuit:
"We strongly disagree with the claims made against FedEx and will defend the lawsuit. FedEx has a diverse workforce, and our focus in the aftermath of the incident was to support Mr. Gibson."
The lawsuit comes after a Georgia man went on a slur-filled rant against Black FedEx driver in a viral video. Last September, a Michigan man tried assaulting a Black delivery driver while hurling racial slurs at him.
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