Yesterday, leaders of Pearl River County got together to have a positive dialogue about national topics of concern, like the Dallas shootings, at a round table discussion.
“With everything that had happened last week, I knew we needed to do something as a community and I didn’t want to wait for that to happen,” said District I Supervisor Donald Hart.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather law enforcement leaders, mayors and other county leaders to be proactive about the main concerns of the nation, said Hart.
“We want to be proactive, not reactive. Us coming together and communicating about what is going on in our nation can help avoid future negative situations and also progress the county in a positive manner,” said Hart.
During the open discussion, one concern community leaders expressed was the handling of situations from the officers countywide. Picayune Councilman Larry Breland asked the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, Picayune Police Department and Poplarville Police Department about the procedures in place to handle potential problems in the county.
Sheriff David Allison said, “As long as we can communicate well, we will get to a solution. Investigations of a scenario like that are taken very seriously and termination is never out of the question, but every situation is different so that is where the investigation process comes into play.”
Picayune Police Chief Bryan Dawsey said that every officer in his department is required to wear a body camera when they interact with the public. The body cameras serve to protect and expose the truth behind every interaction between law enforcement and the community.
“An officer can walk up to any situation and either pour gas on it or water. But at the end of the day, we are all human. These body cameras are there for a reason so trying to rectify the situation as a citizen on the spot is not the best solution if something you feel wrong has happened,” said Pearl River County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin. “There is an avenue to make things right and it is not then. Get the badge number of the officer and if you have a complaint, call the sheriff or the chief.”