Police make an arrest in connection with disabled assault in Tupelo
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tupelo police have made an arrest in the assault of a mentally disabled man that was videotaped and put on social media.
This video shows the assault on Sunday afternoon, April 27, of Jeff Strickland at an apartment complex. The Tupelo man is known for cheering on the Golden Wave teams and also riding around town on his bicycle.
After the video was shown, public outcry was swift. Tupelo police said a juvenile is in custody and the case will be handled through Youth Court. In the meantime, the public has rallied around Strickland.
A GOFUNDME has been set up, and Strickland said while he was fearful and confused during the attack, he is blessed to have such a big support system in the area.
“You know they say you can’t keep a good man down. Well, they’re trying to keep me down, but I bounce right back up. I appreciate everyone being behind my back. If it wasn’t for them, I would probably be in the morgue, but I’m glad everyone is behind me,” said Strickland.
“Never done a crowd source platform like GOFUNDME, don’t know quite how to help but want to help any way we can, and I was raised to do the next right thing, and to me that is the way we could help at that time,” said Nat Grubbs, starter for Jeff’s GOFUNDME.
So far, more than $4,000 has been raised to help Strickland. Jeff plans to be at the Tupelo baseball game this evening, cheering on the Golden Wave.
