The attorneys representing a terminated lieutenant and demoted sergeant are requesting a default judgment concerning the lawsuit against the former Harrison County Sheriff and various other department personnel.   The previous deadline for filing a response was May 31^st and there was no response filed in time.   They tentatively promised to have the response filed by June 9^th, a deadline that also passed. 

According to the attorney for the lieutenant and sergeant, there have been numerous attempts to resolve the case through mediation.   There was an additional settlement proposal offered to the defendants to which there was no response.   An earlier mediation attempt had already been unsuccessful by the time these alternative offers were made.  

The lawsuit claims the character of the terminated and demoted officers are in question, but the defense has made little to no effort to resolve or even move forward to settle the case.   The lawsuit also claims there were several alleged incidents over the last several years up until the time both officers were fired.   Both officers claimed they responded appropriately and have no fault in the issues.   They have attempted to regain their previous jobs through civil proceedings, but have had no luck to date. 

The terminated officer was able to secure a victory at the circuit court level, but it was never finalized.   The state appealed the circuit court’s decision in the matter and the state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case in late September.  

At this point it is unlikely mediation will be effective for resolving the matters for either of the officers.