Reporters with the Clarion Ledger and Hattiesburg American reached out to more than a dozen law enforcement agencies across the state to obtain their use-of-force policies and gather demographic information to offer a glimpse of how police are using chokeholds and other methods of controlling potentially dangerous situations.
The following is a list of departments' demographic and policy information:
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No. Sheriff Lee Vance said he hoped the department would gain accreditation under the state level.
Body cameras: Yes.
Chokehold policy: Chokeholds are "strictly prohibited."
Additional training: The HCSO requires 24 to 32 hours of continuous annual training for all sworn personnel, including firearms training.
Department makeup: Not including the detention center, the sheriff's department has 66 Black sworn personnel and 14 white. Sixty are and male and 20 are female.
Number of officers: The department is budgeted for 80 deputies. Vance is submitting a new budget proposal to the county to ask for additional deputies.
Experience of officers: 42 officers have been on the force less than five years.
Use-of-force complaints: The department had one use-of-force complaint in 2019. To date, one has been filed in 2020.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No. The department is accredited by the Mississippi Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.
Body cameras: No, primarily because of privacy concerns and the expense involved, Chief Inspector Steve Palmer said. Several of the department's patrol vehicles are equipped with dash cams.
Additional training: Deputies undergo regular recurrent training as required by the department's accreditation standards.
Chokeholds: No specific policy.
Department makeup: 82% white, 14% Black, 2% Hispanic, 1% other.
Number of officers The department has 147 sworn officers out of 149 budgeted.
Experience of officers: 68 have been employed by the department for less than five years, but only 24 have less than five years of law enforcement experience.
Use-of-force complaints: Three use-of-force complaints since Jan. 1, 2019. No deputies have five or more complaints against them.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No. The department did receive accreditation from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission in 2019. Chief Ford Hayman said the two "mirror each other" but the cost of obtaining CALEA was a deciding factor against seeking out the national accreditation.
Body cameras: Yes. The department first began using body cameras in late summer 2016.
Chokehold policy: Neck restraints are strictly prohibited unless deadly force is applicable in the situation.
Additional training: Yes, the department offers additional training in use of force, pursuits and racial profiling.
Department makeup: 59% white, 41% African American; five female officers (two white, two African American, one Hispanic).
Number of officers: 54 out of 60 budgeted.
Experience of officers: 19 officers have less than five years of experience.
Use-of-force complaints since 2019: Zero.
Do any officers have five or more complaints against them? No.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: OPD has been CALEA accredited since 2019 and had the Mississippi Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, or MSLEA, for the last five years.
Body cameras: Yes. OPD has had body cameras for the last five years and every employee has their own body camera. The department has a policy that mandates cameras are turned on during citizen interaction.
Chokehold policy: OPD does not train on chokeholds. To use one must be "exigent circumstances," Chief Jeff McCutchen said.
Additional training: Yes. Mississippi requires officers get a minimum 24 hours of continued education annually. On average, officers at OPD undergo 150 hours of training a year. Some officers at OPD will undergo up to 400 hours of training each year, depending on their position.
Department makeup: White men, 57, white women, 5, African American men, 12, African American women, two, Hispanic woman, one.
Number of officers: 80
Experience of officers: OPD has 23 officers with less than five years of service.
Use-of-force complaints since Jan 1, 2019: Three.
Do any officers have five or more complaints against them? No.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: Yes. The department was reaccredited in 2020, and has been accredited at least 20 years.
Body cameras: Yes. The department began using body cameras in 2016.
Chokehold policy: Hattiesburg Police Department prohibits the use of chokeholds and other similar lateral vascular neck restraints. In addition, officers have a duty to intervene if they witness another officer using inappropriate measures to restrain a person.
Additional training: The department requires additional training on a monthly basis.
Department makeup: Hattiesburg’s police force is 55.8% white, 41.6% Black and 2.6% other races.
Number of officers: The department has 113 officers and is budgeted for 125. The department plans to eventually add another 15 officers, when funding is available.
Experience of officers: Less than a third of the officers in the department have less than five years of law enforcement experience. The department added 35 graduates from its training academy between 2016-20. An additional four officers who transferred from other agencies have less than five years of experience.
Use-of-force complaints: The department has had one use-of-force complaint since Jan. 1, 2019. No officer with the department has received five or more excessive force complaints.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No. The department is currently undergoing the process to obtain accreditation.
Body cameras: No. The department is working on obtaining body cameras for sworn officers.
Chokehold policy: The use of chokeholds and other similar restraints is discouraged, unless deadly force is warranted or is a life-or-death situation and all other attempts to restrain a person fail. Certain protocols must be followed before such methods are used. In addition, officers have a duty to intervene if they witness another officer using inappropriate measures to restrain a person.
Additional training: The department requires additional training on a monthly and quarterly basis.
Department makeup: Forrest County’s sworn officers are 72.5% white, 25.5% Black and 2% other races.
Number of officers: The department has 52 sworn officers.
Experience of officers: This information was not readily available.
Use-of-force complaints: The department has had no use-of-force complaints since Jan. 1, 2020. Personnel records prior to the beginning of the year are not available.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No, but the department has adopted many of the CALEA policies, standards and guidelines, including its use-of-force policy.
Body cameras: No. The department is in the process of obtaining body cameras for sworn officers and is currently looking at various models to determine which are best for the department.
Chokehold policy: The use of chokeholds and other similar restraints is discouraged, unless deadly force is warranted or is a life-or-death situation and all other attempts to restrain a person fail. Certain protocols must be followed before such methods are used. In addition, officers have a duty to intervene if they witness another officer using inappropriate measures to restrain a person.
Additional training: The department requires at least nine hours of training each month. Additional training for various skills and positions also is mandated.
Department makeup: Lamar County’s sworn officers are 91% white, 5.9% Black and 2% Hispanic. Jail employees are 90% white and 10% Black.
Number of officers: The department has 101 employees of which 43 are full-time sworn officers, two are part-time and six are fully certified auxiliary officers. The department is fully staffed.
Experience of officers: Ten officers in the department have five years or less time on the force.
Use-of-force complaints: The department has had two use-of-force complaints since Jan. 1, 2019. No officer with the department has received five or more excessive force complaints.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: Yes.
Body cameras: Yes. The department started issuing Muvi body cameras between 2013-15, but has since transitioned to other body cameras.
Chokehold policy: The department allows the use of chokeholds, but only if deadly force is authorized. It is considered a method of restraint that can cause death or serious bodily injury.
Additional training: Yes. Upon graduating the academy, officers are assigned to a field training officer for three months. During that time, new officers are trained and evaluated on patrol functions. Officers receive training in accordance to what is required by accreditation standards.
Department makeup: Biloxi’s sworn officers are 89% white, 9% Black and 2% other.
Number of officers: The department has 126 officers and is budgeted for 134.
Experience of officers: Twenty officers in the department have five years or less time on the force.
Use-of-force complaints: The department has had three use-of-force complaints since Jan. 1, 2019. No officer with the department has received five or more excessive force complaints.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: Yes. The department is in the advanced law enforcement accreditation program. The agency has been involved in the program since 2002. The department's most recent accreditation came in 2017 with the next re-accreditation coming in 2021.
Body cameras: No. The department does not have body cameras at moment but it is a topic that has been in discussion. The department does have dashcam video and audio that records the police activity during traffic stops.
Chokehold policy: The department does not allow chokeholds. The department is restricted from using them in its use-of-force policy.
Additional training: Yes. The state of Mississippi has a requirement for law enforcement standards and training that officers must have a minimum of 24 hours in-service training every year. The department, in addition to that, sends officers to in-service training locally, across the state and nationally. It can range from specialized training for investigators to routine de-escalation training for road officers.
With the pandemic in place, we also use an online robust system called Police One Academy. Most of the department's in-service training right now is through the online system.
Department makeup: The department is 79% white and 18% African American, 2% Hispanic and other, 1%.Women make up 7% of officers in the department.
Number of officers: The department is budgeted for 82 authorized, sworn positions. Currently, the department has 67 filled positions.
Experience of officers: With 67 total officers, the average years of experience is eight. The average age of officers in the department is 39.
Use-of-force complaints: In 2019, the department dealt with four use-of-force complaints. In 2020, there have been three use-of-force complaints.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No.
Body cameras: Yes. The department issued body cameras in 2016.
Chokehold policy: The department does not have a specific policy on chokeholds.
Additional training: Yes. The department requires in-service training as well as advanced training in specific areas.
Department makeup: The makeup of the department includes 15 white women, three Black women, two Hispanic women, 47 white men, 11 Black men and two Hispanic men.
Number of officers: The department has 59 sworn officers but is budgeted for 62.
Experience of officers: The average experience of officers is 30 years.
Use-of-force complaints: The city of Pearl does not respond regarding personnel matters.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: No. All of the department's officer accreditation is done through training agencies in the state of Mississippi that all fall under the board on law enforcement officer standards and training.
Body cameras: No. We have been looking at systems for quite some time with the goal of having them in the near future. There are different factors that have to be considered when looking at these systems such as cost, storage and policies. We have multiple trials scheduled with manufacturers to hopefully provide us with the best quality and cost effective system.
Chokehold policy: The department does not have a specific policy on chokeholds but they are considered to be deadly force and only used in deadly force situations as required by the passage of the new executive order recently. The department is in the process of doing a yearly update on our policies and procedures and will implement a new policy specifically for this new executive order.
Additional training: Yes. The department will typically do a refresher training at least four times a year. It typically coincides with the quarterly firearms training. The topics include but are not limited to driving and pursuits, use of force and escalation, legal updates on new statutes and case law.
Department makeup: Rankin County's sworn officers are 85% white while 15% are minorities. Eighty percent of these 237 total officers are men while 20% are women.
Number of officers: Currently, the department has 237 officers. We are currently 26 officers short of what we are budgeted for.
Experience of officers: Forty-five of the department's full-time deputies have been with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department for less than five years. The large majority of came to us from other agencies and were certified before that time.
Use-of-force complaints: Since January 2019, the department has received only one use-of-force complaint.
Information not available.
Former Clarion Ledger reporters Wilton Jackson and Sarah Fowler contributed to this report.
Contact Lici Beveridge at 601-584-3104 or lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
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