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Mississippi Lawmakers Propose Measures to Oversee Police

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1 year ago

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Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield are examining the power of sheriffs’ offices in Mississippi as part of The New York Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship.

Mississippi lawmakers have introduced a bill that would increase oversight of law enforcement officers and give state authorities more power to punish misconduct after a series of scandals was uncovered across the state last year.

The law would give the state agency that certifies law enforcement officers the ability to investigate claims of police misconduct.

If lawmakers pass the bill, the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training will gain the power to respond directly to complaints or allegations, putting Mississippi on par with states that regulate officers more aggressively.

If the board ruled that conduct violated professional standards, it could revoke an officer’s certification, potentially ending that officer’s career in Mississippi.

Under current law, the board can accept complaints but cannot investigate them. The agency largely has focused on running criminal background checks on new officers applying for certification, ensuring they have met basic training requirements and tracking where officers work.

All Mississippi law enforcement officers are currently required to become certified except sheriffs, who are elected officials and are exempt from certification requirements.

The proposed law comes after The New York Times and Mississippi Today published a series of articles last year revealing allegations of sexual misconduct against two sheriffs and exposing a decades-long reign of terror by a group of Rankin County deputies who called themselves the Goon Squad.

Also last year, five Rankin County Sheriff’s Department deputies and a local police officer pleaded guilty to federal charges for breaking into the home of two Black men, torturing them, threatening to rape them and then shooting one of them in the mouth.

For years the state ignored or was unaware of allegations of jailhouse rape, brutal beatings and corrupt acts by sheriffs and their deputies.

The revelations have led to increasing calls from the public for accountability.

In Rankin County, just outside Mississippi’s capital, Jackson, billboards have sprung up encouraging residents to report police brutality and hate crimes to the F.B.I. The local chapter of the NAACP has repeatedly demanded Sheriff Bryan Bailey’s resignation.

“They’re tasked with protecting and serving, but they’re not protecting and serving. They’re harassing, they’re terrorizing, they’re torturing,” said Cardell Wright, president of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. “We have to have oversight if we’re going to abate any of these issues that are happening in our communities.”

State Representative Fred Shanks, a Rankin County Republican who introduced the bill in January, said it would require all officers to complete annual training, a provision he said could improve community relations with the police and protect law enforcement agencies from lawsuits.

“This is both pro-law enforcement and pro-citizen,” he said. “The more training you have, the better you’re going to be.”

Mr. Shanks was personally impacted by one law enforcement officer’s actions in Rankin County.

According to an investigation by the local district attorney, Sheriff Bailey improperly used grand jury subpoenas in 2014 to obtain phone records belonging to his girlfriend, Kristi Pennington Shanks, who is Mr. Shanks’s ex-wife.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation examines police shootings, deaths in custody and other misconduct when a local department asks for help. Mr. Shanks’s proposal would add a second layer of oversight and could expand the kind of misconduct that is reviewed in a state that has historically resisted police oversight.

“It’s long overdue for Mississippi to change a lot of their policies, a lot of their training” related to law enforcement, said Representative Jeffrey Hulum III, a Democrat from Gulfport who said he planned to co-sponsor the measure with Mr. Shanks.

Mr. Shanks wrote the bill with Sean Tindell, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Safety. Mr. Tindell oversees several statewide law enforcement agencies, including the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the law enforcement training academy. Mr. Tindell said that while he and his colleagues had discussed changing the law in the past, the conduct brought to light in 2023 was a factor in pushing for the bill this year.

FILE – Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell delivers remarks during the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol’s Cadet Class 65 graduation ceremony, June 30, 2021, in Pearl, Miss. Tindell is a former Mississippi Court of Appeals judge who stepped into his role _ overseeing the state medical examiner’s office, the highway patrol and other agencies _ in May 2020. He called the backlog “unacceptable” and said he’s made eliminating it the top priority of his administration. Credit: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

“I think it’s OK to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, maybe we need to make some changes,’ and this could be that opportunity where everybody feels the same way,” he said. “We can look at a bill like this as a way to improve the overall profession and the perception of that profession.”

Mr. Shanks said that if his proposed law had been in place, many of the events that became public in 2023 could have been investigated by the certification board, even if prosecutors did not bring criminal charges. In some of those cases, charging an officer was made difficult by statutes of limitation or the high bar of evidence required to win a criminal conviction.

Mr. Tindell said leaders of both the Mississippi Sheriffs’ Association and the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police supported the new bill, giving it a healthy chance to reach the House floor for a vote. A House committee will decide whether to move the bill forward in the coming weeks.

State Senator Juan Barnett, a Democrat from Heidelberg, introduced another measure that could double criminal penalties for law enforcement officers who are convicted of abusing their power.

Legislators have not decided whether to hear that bill. Joey Fillingane, a Republican and the chair of the judiciary committee in the State Senate that will decide if the bill advances, did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Barnett said the national push for greater accountability for law enforcement officers inspired him to sponsor the bill.

“We just want to make sure that people feel like they are getting protected and served by the men and women who are in uniform,” he said.

Mississippi Today political reporter Taylor Vance contributed reporting.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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April 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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