Elderly Navy veteran says ex-cop knocked her out during Gulf Coast political dispute
A 74-year-old Mississippi woman who was allegedly assaulted by a retired Long Beach police officer during a roadside protest claimed during an emotional phone call with The Mississippi Independent that the attack was “unprovoked and outrageous.”
“When I was serving my country in the Navy, I never thought that there would be a day that any American, especially a retired policeman, would purposely confront me for expressing my opinion in a silent and peaceful manner,” Vivian Ramsay said during the May 5 phone call in which she tearfully read through a prepared statement (a reporter for the Biloxi Sun Herald was also included on the call).
The incident occurred on April 24 at 4:30 p.m. on a vacant lot near the intersection of U.S. 90 and Jeff Davis Avenue in Long Beach, on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
Craig DeRoche, 64, a retired patrolman and former detective, allegedly approached Ramsay on the lot and ripped a sign off her car, after which the altercation escalated and he became physical, according to Ramsay.
Ramsay said she was standing vigil beside the highway to publicly defend the U.S. Constitution, including the Fifth Amendment, and to protest an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in March that she believes is unconstitutional and could disenfranchise married women. The order, styled as “restoring trust in American elections,” has sparked controversy over its intrusion on election oversight responsibilities that many argue belong to the states.
Ramsay has protested Trump’s policies since February, with a three-week break due to illness, she said.
“People come up to me and say thank you for being here, or you’re so brave, and commiserate about the political environment,” Ramsay said. Most of those who stop to talk are women, she said. Ramsay added that she also frequently experiences verbal abuse from people driving by.
Ramsay’s attorney, David Baria, of Bay St. Louis, declined to offer specific details about the verbal exchange between his client and DeRoche, citing ongoing legal proceedings. However, Ramsay said she was upset and shouted at DeRoche after he grabbed her sign. After that, the altercation became physical and, “I defended myself until he struck me in my head hard enough to knock me out,” she said.
Ramsay was hospitalized for two days and diagnosed with a subdural hematoma—an internal cranial bleed often caused by trauma, Baria said. According to a Harvard Medical School overview of subdermal hematomas, such injuries can be life-threatening, with symptoms that may persist for weeks or months, including memory loss and headaches.
Baria confirmed that DeRoche’s arrest took place at the scene. The former law enforcement officer is facing two charges of simple assault, one of which is related to Ramsay’s injuries and the other tied to alleged intimidation of a bystander who intervened.
“A 74-year-old veteran gets beat up for holding a sign beside the road,” Baria said following Ramsay’s statement. “I don’t care who you voted for, we can all agree that this is terrible, simply shocking, and unacceptable for anyone to intentionally confront and attack a 74-year-old woman, a veteran of the United States Navy who is simply exercising her First Amendment rights. You wouldn’t allow your children to behave this way.”
DeRoche, who retired in 2019 after 18 years of service, was honored at a September 2020 ceremony at the Long Beach Police Department. In social media posts from the event, he is pictured with the current Long Beach chief of police, Billy Seal.
According to local media reports (some of which have misspelled DeRoche’s name “DeRouche”), Seal said that during the encounter DeRoche shoved Ramsay to the ground. The Sun Herald reported that Seal said she got “a bump on her head.”
DeRoche has not yet responded to messages sent by The Mississippi Independent to his multiple Facebook accounts nor to a phone message left with his wife.
Since the incident, DeRoche has filed two assault complaints against Ramsay, though she has not been charged or summoned. Baria said his client is willing to voluntarily appear at the police station to avoid a potential arrest at a later date. Long Beach Municipal Judge James “Jim” Simpson has not yet ruled on whether to issue a warrant or hold a probable cause hearing related to the complaint against Ramsay.
Asked whether DeRoche’s ties to the police department could potentially influence the legal process, Baria expressed cautious optimism.
“Well, of course, he was a part of the system that is now prosecuting my client,” Baria said. “So, there’s always a concern about things like that. But we have a judge, and the judge took an oath to administer justice in a non-biased manner, and I trust that the judge will follow his oath.”
Ramsay was resolute. “I defended my country in the Navy, and I defended myself on April 24,” she said. “And I intend to defend myself in court against any charge that I violated the law.”
Image: Protest signs on Ramsay’s van (courtesy Margaret McMullan)
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