diff --git a/dist/debian/build_deb.sh b/dist/debian/build_deb.sh
index e44782766a..ff901d3c07 100755
--- a/dist/debian/build_deb.sh
+++ b/dist/debian/build_deb.sh
@@ -235,6 +235,9 @@ fi
 if [ "$TARGET" != "trusty" ]; then
     cp dist/common/systemd/scylla-server.service.in debian/scylla-server.service
     sed -i -e "s#@@SYSCONFDIR@@#/etc/default#g" debian/scylla-server.service
+    if [ "$TARGET" = "jessie" ]; then
+        sed -i -e "s#AmbientCapabilities=CAP_SYS_NICE##g" debian/scylla-server.service
+    fi
     cp dist/common/systemd/scylla-housekeeping-daily.service.in debian/scylla-server.scylla-housekeeping-daily.service
     sed -i -e "s#@@REPOFILES@@#'/etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla*.list'#g" debian/scylla-server.scylla-housekeeping-daily.service
     cp dist/common/systemd/scylla-housekeeping-restart.service.in debian/scylla-server.scylla-housekeeping-restart.service