Episode 117: Kevin Rust – Police Excessive Force, Color of Law Violations

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In this episode, retired agent Kevin Rust reviews his investigation of a rural police officer charged and convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law violations, in connection with the blackjack beating of a Jake Gibbs, an elderly black man in police custody.

Gibbs sustained two broken ribs as the result of the use of excessive force incident.

Special Agent (Retired)

Kevin Rust

6/9/1985 –  10/31/2014

Kevin served 29 years with the FBI.

He spent a majority of his career in Mississippi in resident agencies out of the Jackson Division, including 13 years in a one person office.

During his Bureau career, Kevin Rust also had assignments in Chicago, Budapest, FBI Headquarters, and Quantico. He was a crisis negotiator who responded to many incidents both domestically and internationally and taught negotiation concepts to hundreds of state, local and international officers. Kevin Rust, who prior to entering the FBI was a CPA with Price Waterhouse, currently works as a contractor for the FBI’s International Corruption Unit tracing money flows and identifying for seizure assets that were purchased with money stolen by foreign kleptocrats.

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law violations involve actions taken by a person acting under authority of federal, state, or local laws to willfully deprive someone of their constitutional or other legal rights.

The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating color of law violations, which include acts carried out by government officials operating both within and beyond the limits of their lawful authority. Off-duty conduct may be covered if the perpetrator asserted his or her official status in some way.

The following are links to a FBI website article regarding color of law violations and to a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that denied law enforcement certification for the police officer convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law violations:

FBI.gov – What We Investigate:  Civil Rights – Color of Law Violations

Williard Butler Vs Mississippi Supreme Court