BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (WJTV) – A pregnant woman and daughter of a Brookhaven police officer filed a complaint against another officer, saying she used excessive force and violated her civil rights during a traffic stop.

A video showed the moment Vivian Hathorn’s car slowed down after she said her accelerator became stuck on November 24, 2020. Hathorn said she was relieved to see Officer Lisa Jackson. When the officer approached her truck, Hathorn said Jackson had her gun drawn and threw her on the ground, even though she yelled she was pregnant.

“It was like she didn’t care. I still went down to the ground laying on my stomach and put my hands behind my back. I was just confused,” she stated.

Hathorn said Jackson violated her civil rights by not telling her what she was being handcuffed for and using excessive force. However, Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins said Jackson did as she was trained to do in that situation.

“Agent Jackson was the first one on the scene, as well as another officer. Everything they did on the traffic stop is consistent with the training that we have. We reacted out of safety, and they did what they were trained to do. They are the ones that called for the ambulance, and they were still irate,” said Collins.

He said he hopes they can move on from the situation, but Hathorn said she wants an apology.

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