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D’Monterrio Gibson was working his route last year as a FedEx delivery driver in the Junior Trail neighborhood of Brookhaven, Mississippi.
After dropping off a package on Jan. 24, 2022, Gibson says two men, a father and son, blocked his path, shot at him and chased him out of the neighborhood.
The pair were taken into custody on Feb. 1, 2022, according to WLBT. Gregory Case initially was charged with conspiracy, and his son, Brandon Case, was charged with aggravated assault shooting into an occupied vehicle.
They were released on bond, but in November they were indicted on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy and shooting into a motor vehicle, according to court documents obtained by WJTV and other media outlets. WLBT said the son pleaded not guilty in a Jan. 4 arraignment, and the father will be seen in court in March.
Now, Gibson, a Black man, is suing those two white men and others who he says failed to help him.
In a complaint filed Jan. 20 in U.S. District Court, Gibson alleges the men who shot at him, the city of Brookhaven, police Chief Kenny Collins and FedEx all failed him and discriminated against him because of his race, leading to a year of emotional distress.
Gibson seeks at least $5 million to set things right.
The lawsuit says that the city of Brookhaven and Collins failed in their duties and allowed time for the men accused of chasing Gibson to turn themselves in rather than pursuing them. The men did so eight days later, the suit says.
In addition, “Chief Collins intentionally delayed justice for (Gibson) by delaying the presentation of critical evidence and documentation pertinent to the instant matter on January 24th, 2022, for nearly ten months, and failed to properly investigate the crimes allegedly committed,” by the two men, the lawsuit says.
Gibson says FedEx made him drive the same route the day after the shooting, knowing what had happened. He accuses FedEx of “intentionally discriminating against (him) … because of his race and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.”
In a statement to McClatchy News, FedEx senior communications specialist Tammy DeGroff said, “We are aware of the lawsuit. FedEx has a diverse workforce and leadership team, and our focus in the aftermath of the incident was to support Mr. Gibson. We strongly disagree with the claims made against FedEx and will defend the lawsuit.”
In the complaint, Gibson says he contacted his supervisor as soon as he felt safe driving away from the neighborhood, but that his supervisor “wanted to wait until the following day to report the incident to police,” so Gibson called police himself.
He says this action by FedEx led to “severe mental anguish and anxiety, loss of sleep, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder,” and that the company demanded he return to work on the same route “subjecting him to disparate treatment because of his race.”
McClatchy News reached out to the city of Brookhaven, Chief Collins and Gibson’s attorney but did not receive a response. Attorneys for the two men accused in the case were not listed in court documents.
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