Four Columbus police officers will miss nearly a month of work without pay after a Columbus Police Department investigation found the officers guilty of misconduct in the Vicksburg National Military Park.
Cpl. Spence Wallingford and officers Heath Beard, Wade Beard and Robert Walker each were suspended from the department for 15 working days and will be on probation for six months following the suspension for engaging in misconduct while on a training trip in Vicksburg.
Although the suspension was set to begin today, the officers work on rotating schedules, so each officer will return to work on a different day after missing about a month of duty, CPD Chief Joseph St. John explained.
The announcement came Tuesday night after a nearly two-hour executive session of the Columbus City Council. During the closed meeting, the council heard testimony from St. John, the four officers and the officers” attorney, Rod Ray, before unanimously approving the disciplinary action.
However, the officers may appeal the council”s ruling to the Columbus Public Service Commission if they are unsatisfied with the findings, Ray explained.
“We will just let it sink in for a few days, and then we will decide what to do after that,” Ray said after the council”s announcement. “They didn”t demote anyone, so Spence will still be a corporal when he returns.”
Although the officers and several of their family members attended the City Council meeting, all declined to comment.
“I can neither deny nor confirm if the punishment was my recommendation. I think the council and everyone in here was in agreement that what was passed was fair,” St. John said. “I will take care of apologizing to the military park because this is my department.
“This just wasn”t something we could walk away from,” St. John added. “I think all the outrage that came after this incident really showed us how closely people are watching.”
The disciplinary action came about two weeks after the officers were called home from a three-day field sobriety training course sponsored by the Sobriety Trained Officers Representing Mississippi.
Although the officers were scheduled to be in Vicksburg May 5-7, St. John called the officers back to Columbus May 6 after receiving reports of the misconduct from a S.T.O.R.M. official.
According to the reports, the officers were riding through the park in a marked Columbus police cruiser and flashing their lights and sirens and passersby.
The reports also claimed two people, an officer from another agency and his fiancée, were riding in the vehicle”s open trunk.
This morning, the CPD issued an apology in the form of a press release.
“At this time we would like to apologize to the citizens of Vicksburg and Columbus, MS in regards to this incident. It is unfortunately that this happened,” the release reads. “The City of Columbus and the Columbus Police Department does not condone certain actions.”
The release also made an apology to the employees of the Vicksburg National Memorial Park.
“I”m proud to work alongside some of the finest in the law enforcement profession,” St. John said in the release. “Though this incident is unfortunate, it was addressed in a quick and expedient manner; this behavior is not indicative of the hard work of the Columbus Police Department officers.”
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