GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. – Two former top commanders of the Glynn County Police Department have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that a Georgia sheriff, a former district attorney, and more than a dozen others conspired to destroy the department and frame them to do it.
Former Police Chief John Powell and former Assistant Chief Brian Scott filed the 64-page lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division. The suit names 13 defendants and seeks $20 million in damages along with a jury trial.
The lawsuit alleges that Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump and former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jacquelyn “Jackie” Johnson led a years-long effort to eliminate the Glynn County Police Department — which has operated independently from the sheriff’s office since 1919 — and consolidate all county law enforcement power under the sheriff’s office.
Powell and Scott claim the criminal indictments brought against them in 2020 for alleged oath-of-office violations were not the result of legitimate law enforcement concerns, but rather “the culmination of a deep-seated conspiracy by high-profile law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and others” to remove them from their positions and destroy the department’s reputation.
In addition to Jump and Johnson, the lawsuit names:
- James C. Proctor, former Camden County Sheriff — now employed by Jump at the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office
- Stephen D. Jessup, McIntosh County Sheriff
- Jordan Daniel Lowe, Jr., Colonel with the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office
- Michael W. Lawson, former Glynn County Sheriff’s Deputy
- William V. Daras, former Chief Investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit DA’s office — now employed by Jump at the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office
- Liberty A. Stewart a/k/a Liberty Gendron, former Assistant District Attorney, Brunswick Judicial Circuit
- John Dustin Simpson, Glynn County Police Department officer — currently assigned as a lieutenant overseeing internal investigations
- Elzaver “Dustin” Davis, Glynn County Police Department officer
- Joseph Mulholland, special prosecutor, South Georgia Judicial Circuit
- Banks Thomas Smith, Assistant District Attorney, South Georgia Judicial Circuit
- Mark Randall, reporter, DeSoto Times-Tribune, Mississippi
Background: A Department Created to Prevent Corruption
The Glynn County Police Department was established in 1919 by the county’s governing body specifically because of corruption by Glynn County sheriffs at the time. The lawsuit notes the department has operated independently from the sheriff’s office for more than 100 years.
According to the complaint, Jump openly announced his desire to disband the GCPD and consolidate all county law enforcement under his office from the beginning of his tenure as sheriff in 2013. The lawsuit alleges Johnson, who served as district attorney from 2010 to 2020, facilitated multiple grand jury reviews of consolidation between 2013 and 2019.
The Cory Sasser Case: The Alleged Turning Point
The lawsuit identifies the handling of a 2018 domestic violence case involving former GCPD Officer Cory Sasser as the moment Powell and Scott became targets.
According to the complaint, Sasser — one of two officers involved in the 2010 shooting death of unarmed Glynn County resident Caroline Small, a case Johnson declined to prosecute — committed domestic violence against his estranged wife in May 2018. Powell and Scott arrested Sasser and sought to keep him jailed.
The lawsuit alleges Jump intervened, bringing a judge to the county jail after hours to facilitate Sasser’s immediate release. A judge was allegedly overheard saying, “Cory is a good boy, I’m not going to allow him to spend one night in jail.” That judge, according to the complaint, had previously represented Sasser as a private attorney in the 2010 Caroline Small case.
Powell contacted the FBI and ATF for help getting Sasser back into custody. On June 28, 2018, Sasser murdered his estranged wife, Katie Sasser, and her friend John Hall, Jr., in McIntosh County before taking his own life. The lawsuit alleges Jump and Johnson’s offices were aware Sasser was in the area and never notified Powell or the GCPD.
The complaint states that Powell and Scott’s handling of the Sasser case — their refusal to give him special treatment — was the inflection point that made them targets. “In order for the Jump/Johnson system of cronyism to survive in Glynn County, both Powell and Scott had to be eliminated,” the lawsuit states.
Powell and Scott were indicted on February 28, 2020, for alleged oath-of-office violations — specifically, that they violated Brady v. Maryland by failing to conduct internal investigations of their officers.
The indictments came the same week Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed while jogging in a Glynn County neighborhood. Powell worked a half day after Arbery’s death and never returned to the department.
The lawsuit alleges Jump and Johnson capitalized on the public outrage over the perceived mishandling of the Arbery investigation, publicly blaming Powell for the delayed arrest — even though, according to the complaint, Powell was no longer leading the department at the time and had no role in the investigation.
Four Years of Prosecution — Ended by the Georgia Supreme Court
Johnson recused herself and her office from the case in May 2020, after the indictments had already been filed. A special prosecutor, South Georgia Judicial Circuit District Attorney Joseph Mulholland, was appointed by the Georgia Attorney General.
The lawsuit alleges Mulholland sought re-indictments in August 2021 despite being advised by the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia not to proceed, with the director warning him he was “opening a Pandora’s box.”
On April 30, 2024, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously — nine to nothing — in Powell and Scott’s favor, finding the indictments legally baseless. The court held that “it is legally impossible to commit the crimes in the way the State alleged in the indictment.” The remaining charges were dropped on June 25, 2024, ending more than four years of prosecution.
The case prompted Georgia lawmakers to pass House Bill 582, which went into effect July 1, 2025. The law limits oath-of-office prosecutions statewide to only those predicated on felonies or high and aggravated misdemeanors. The Georgia State FOP Lodge lobbied for the bill in part because of what happened to Powell and Scott, according to the lawsuit.
Career Consequences
The lawsuit details significant professional harm to both men. Powell was terminated from the GCPD in January 2021 after refusing multiple buyout attempts. Scott was terminated from a police chief position in Vidalia, Georgia, in August 2021 following Mulholland’s re-indictments.
According to the complaint, both men were repeatedly denied employment opportunities in law enforcement due to the volume of negative press coverage generated by the indictments and related proceedings.
In October 2025, Powell was hired as deputy police chief in Flowery Branch, Georgia, after that department’s chief conducted his own review and determined Powell had been “railroaded.” The lawsuit alleges that within weeks, defendant Mark Randall contacted Flowery Branch officials in an attempt to have Powell fired, calling him in writing “the most corrupt official I have ever covered” and saying he “leaves a trail of slime everywhere he goes.”
In January and March 2026, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council reviewed the case and voted to take no action against Powell or Scott’s law enforcement certifications.
The lawsuit brings two counts under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 — malicious prosecution and conspiracy — alleging the defendants fabricated evidence, suborned perjury, manipulated witness testimony, and withheld exculpatory evidence.
Powell and his attorney have not yet responded to a request for comment from News4JAX.
This story will be updated as responses are received from the parties named in the lawsuit. All allegations cited in this story are drawn from the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court and have not been proven in court.