Ward 3 Alderman David Little said the board’s decision to send a potential case against a former Starkville Police Department officer to District Attorney Scott Colom for possible prosecution represents a government overreach.
He also alluded to the majority of the board bypassing Chief Frank Nichols’ guidance in the process.
Little, who joined Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver in opposing a motion forwarding investigatory materials to the DA’s office associated with a February traffic incident when then-Officer William Thrasher allegedly hit a pedestrian with his police cruiser, said the action represents a “slippery slope” in which a governing body, not a law enforcement agency, decided what should move toward possible prosecution.
Thrasher resigned on March 6.
“We have an experienced, educated and objective law enforcement officer in our (SPD) Chief Frank Nichols. I have the utmost confidence in his discernment and believe that criminal matters should be dealt with through the police department and not through a political body,” Little said. “I am not sure why this matter was brought forward this week when we did not have the full board present. This clearly could have waited a couple of weeks, in my opinion.”
Little’s comments suggest Nichols might not have recommended sending the case to Colom for review, but neither the alderman nor police chief would comment Friday on the specifics or other recommendations discussed in executive session.
Little is now the second alderman to comment on the board’s executive session action. Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins, who supported the action, gave The Dispatch a three-word quote on the entire situation Thursday: “All lives matter.”
Tuesday’s 3-2 vote was split along racial lines, as the city’s three African-American aldermen — Ward 2’s Lisa Wynn, Ward 7’s Henry Vaughn and Perkins — supported the motion and were opposed by Carver and Little, two of the board’s four white representatives.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard were absent from the meeting.
The incident
Details on the incident remain scarce since numerous officials have declined to comment on the record and City Attorney Chris Latimer denied Freedom of Information Act requests by The Dispatch and other media agencies seeking dash camera footage and incident reports.
According to multiple sources on background, however, it is believed a police cruiser Thrasher was driving while patrolling struck a pedestrian from behind in either Ward 6 or Ward 7 in late February.
Thrasher does not face criminal charges at this time, Mayor Parker Wiseman confirmed this week.
One source said aldermen viewed the same dash camera footage The Dispatch requested during Tuesday’s almost hour-long executive session before the board voted to transfer the findings to Colom.
Discrepancies, the source said, could exist between information provided in police reports accounting the incident and what the video shows, but The Dispatch cannot verify the claim without access to the appropriate information.
State law generally allows protections for records that could deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or impede a prosecutor’s ability to prosecute an alleged offense.
Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-12, however, also states law enforcement agencies at their discretion “may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative report.”
Latimer’s email to The Dispatch did confirm that both the investigative findings and Thrasher’s personnel file have been sent to Colom’s office for review.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.