Columbus police chief to temporarily withdraw joint narcotics task force

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus Police Chief Joseph Daughtry is temporarily pulling out of a joint narcotics task force with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

The agencies created the unit as a way to pool resources and personnel to get more drugs off the streets in the city and the county.

This interlocal agreement signed by the City Council and the Board of Supervisors does allow for dissolving the unit, but only after specific conditions have been met.

The Columbus and Lowndes County Drug Task Force is made up of nine members, but as of this coming Thursday, the city’s four officers are reporting back to their regular assignments at the Columbus Police Department.

While this may be the best decision for the police department, the interlocal agreement lays out specific guidelines to follow if either party wants to leave.

Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston said the board’s attorney is checking to see if those guidelines have been followed.

“We did not get any notification from the city council. We have our attorney looking into the interlocal agreement. Why that is and how that can happen. We did not receive a 30-day notice. At this point, we need to know if on Thursday we will be in violation of the agreement,” said Hairston.

Daughtry called the suspension of the task force temporary and says having his officers back will help with the department’s manpower and overtime issues.

“I’m the one getting calls from my supervisors because they have three maybe 4 people on a shift. We have to address that because the citizens of this city demand and deserve better coverage,” said Daughtry.

Sheriff Eddie Hawkins has seen times when the city and county have had their own separate units and when they’ve worked together.

He said it is unfortunate to lose the force, because working together they are able to get more done, more efficiently. But cracking down on drug crime will continue.

“It makes sense for us to have a joint task force where we are all on the same page. Working together and sharing information and cooperating to take the bad guys off the street and eliminate the drugs from the town. It is unfortunate that this is happening but it is happening,” said Hawkins.

In the past, there have been strained relationships between city and county leaders, and some of that strain may still be present.

Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard said that he supports the chief.

“It’ll never be the city versus the county even though the county has been screwing us over for years. It’ll never be the city versus the county. I mean we have jobs to do and one thing that the citizens the constituents of Columbus told us was that we need to hire able body people to get in these positions and we have a person that is well qualified in this position I mean he knows how his department needs to run,” said Beard.

The Chief said that once they can solve some of the issues in the department he is open to reviving the task force.

“We’re putting people through the academy now. Once people start graduating and our numbers go up the sheriff and I can sit down again and have a conversation,” said Daughtry.

Both Daughtry and Hawkins said their agencies will re-adjust and continue to combat the issues in the city and county.

Those four city officers will be reporting back to the police station Thursday.

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