Federal Court Orders Former CMPD Officer to Pay $800,000 for On-Duty Sexual Assaults

In 2009, Marcus Jackson was a uniformed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer with barely a year on the force. Over several months that year he used the authority of his badge to pull women over during traffic stops and sexually assault them. At least six women reported he fondled or groped them during those encounters. Jackson was fired and, in December 2010, entered a guilty plea to sexual assault and kidnapping charges, receiving a prison term of roughly two years.

The criminal conviction closed one chapter but left the civil one open. Two of the victims rejected settlement offers from the city and pressed their claims through the federal court system with attorneys Matt Arnold and Brad Smith. Those claims targeted not only Jackson personally but also alleged that CMPD leadership had failed to supervise him and, in fact, had twice intervened to prevent his termination: once after a 2009 traffic accident involving falsified speed reports, and again after a domestic violence incident that drew only a 16-hour suspension. Prior background checks had also missed domestic violence orders from 2003 and 2005.

The federal case against Jackson himself reached a judgment hearing on June 10, 2013, in Uptown Charlotte. Jackson did not appear. The judge entered judgment for the two women: $100,000 each in compensatory damages for the harm they suffered, plus $300,000 each in punitive damages, the maximum available, for a total award of $800,000.

Attorney Matt Arnold acknowledged after the hearing that Jackson likely lacked the personal assets to satisfy the judgment. He noted, however, that the debt would follow Jackson for the rest of his life. The two women, for their part, continued to experience anxiety around men and law enforcement long after the assaults ended.