Picayune Police Chief Bryan Dawsey spoke to the Exchange Club of Picayune Wednesday about how policing has changed in recent years.
Dawsey spoke about how law enforcement’s role has changed to not only protect and serve the community, but also create a bond with its citizens.
In light of recent police officer-involved shootings around the country, Dawsey said he and the department have taken extra measures to ensure the safety of the community and officers.
“We’re only as strong as the community,” Dawsey said.
As a precautionary measure, some patrol vehicles now have two officers, or two officers are sent to the same call, Dawsey said.
For a time he also posted an officer at the front door of the department to ensure the security of the building and the civilians it employs.
Dawsey credited his five years of success as police chief to the relationship he has with community leaders.
Because of current gun laws, Dawsey said, most citizens can legally carry a weapon, leading to the department dealing with “more weapons than ever before.”
After the police shootings in Dallas, Dawsey said the department received a large outpouring of support from the community, including a campaign to purchase Kevlar vests.
The Exchange Club presented Tonya Cialona with a $500 donation that will be put toward her fundraising effort called Saving Police Lives Campaign, to purchase new, more powerful, bulletproof vests for the department.
Dawsey previously stated that each new vest can cost upward of $500.
The department has always set out to protect and serve the community, but “they’re now protecting us,” Dawsey said.
He said in the past few months, community members and local business owners have provided food and monetary donations, as well as sending letters and cards of support.
He added the department hasn’t had an officer shot and killed since the early 1960s, and neither of the two officer-involved shootings in the past five years led to protests.
Dawsey said Picayune was the first law enforcement agency in southern Mississippi to start wearing body cameras, and as a result the department receives very few complaints.
Dawsey routinely checks the footage and will take action to correct officers’ behavior when necessary, he said.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Dawsey said.
He equated running the department to being the coach of a football team; if a team went 1-15, the coach would be replaced. The same would happen in his department, he said.
As policing policies and tactics are changing throughout the country, Dawsey said his department is working toward increasing its involvement through schools and other programs.
Dawsey said he has the best group of men and women working in the department that he has seen in the past five years.
“I do not have personnel issues right now,” Dawsey said as he knocked on a wooden table.
After the speech, Exchange Club Vice President Russell Lee presented Dawsey with a plaque expressing the group’s appreciation and support.