The City of Lexington, Miss. and its police department deprive people of their constitutional rights, discriminate against Black people, engage in excessive force and unlawfully jail people, the Justice Department said.

A Justice Department investigation has found that police in a majority Black Mississippi city discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against people who criticize them.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it found a series of civil rights violations by a small-town Mississippi police department, accusing officers of routinely using excessive force and arresting people who owed fines for minor traffic offenses.