Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard spent several hours in jail Friday after being charged with misdemeanor domestic violence.
Beard turned himself in Friday afternoon to Columbus police, a day after he allegedly discharged a firearm during a dispute with his wife at their Byrnes Circle home.
He appeared before Municipal Judge Rhonda Hayes Ellis, who ordered him booked in jail and held there until 10 p.m., according to a city press release. He was released on recognizance with orders to stay away from the victim until a hearing can be held on the case’s merits.
Police responded to a disturbance call Thursday evening at the Byrnes Circle home. Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton told The Dispatch Friday morning that Beard fired a gun in the air and had left the scene before officers arrived.
Shelton also said at that time he hadn’t been in direct contact with Beard but had only talked to the councilman’s attorney, Nicole Clinkscales. Further, he indicated officers had looked for Beard “three different places” on Thursday night and couldn’t find him.
Those claims conflict with incident reports and police statements The Dispatch obtained on Saturday from a source with direct knowledge of the investigation. The documents include Beard’s wife telling officers that Shelton had spoken with Beard on the phone, as well as a statement Officer Glenn Jenkins took from Beard in person at a residence on 23rd Avenue North — an address listed on Beard’s driver’s license — shortly after the incident. Also included is a statement from Sgt. Roman Sones, a supervisor, expressing disagreement with how the case was being handled.
Beard, an independent, first took office after winning a special election in September 2019 to replace Fred Jackson, who had resigned. Beard won election to his first full term in June. He did not return a call or message from The Dispatch by press time.
The incident
According to the documents, Beard’s wife told responding officers she and her husband began arguing after she raised suspicions he was having an affair.
She told him, “Get your stuff and get out,” and began taking Beard’s belongings outside to his car. Beard took some of his belongings back inside, but when he went outside a second time, his wife locked him out of the house.
While Beard was outside, his wife told police he fired a gun, which he had in his pocket, into the air, then pointed it at her. The wife instructed her daughter to call 911 as Beard continued making threats.
Beard’s wife also claimed to police Beard called Shelton, as well as Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones, during the incident. Jones told him to “hurry up and leave,” she claimed. After that, Beard left the scene.
Jones, speaking with The Dispatch on Saturday, said he did talk to Beard during the incident and told him to “get out of the situation.” At the time, he believed Beard and his wife were simply arguing. He said he did not know a gun was involved nor would he ever have advised Beard to run from the police.
“I had none of that information,” Jones said.
In Beard’s statement to Jenkins, he claimed the gun discharged accidentally. He also said his wife was throwing his clothes out of the house and locked him out. He reached around a broken glass window to unlock the door, and his wife began kicking his hand, causing the glass to cut his hand, he said.
Sones’ statement
Jenkins reported the details of the case to Sones, including Shelton’s decision to have Beard’s wife sign an affidavit against her husband rather than have the officers arrest Beard.
In Sones’ statement in the incident report, he writes that he confronted Shelton over that decision, pointing out “under other circumstances, the suspect would have been taken to jail for this incident.” Shelton told Sones there were no shell casings recovered at the scene and no apparent physical injuries to Beard’s wife, even though Beard admitted to discharging a firearm.
Sones attempted unsuccessfully to take witness statements from neighbors in the area. Shelton then called and instructed Sones to have an officer prepare an arrest affidavit for Beard. Later, Shelton called Sones again and said Beard would not turn himself in and had contacted an attorney. Sones told Shelton he would attempt to locate Beard and had an officer submit the affidavit to municipal court.
Shelton has not responded to multiple calls from The Dispatch since Friday evening.
Why municipal court?
As of Saturday evening, Public Information Officer Joe Dillon said CPD is still handling the Beard investigation, rather than turning it over to Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office to avoid a conflict of interest. Beard’s seat on the council allows him to vote on hiring, firing, disciplinary and financial matters concerning CPD.
The city council also appoints city judges and funds municipal court, where Beard’s initial hearing was held. Justice court handles misdemeanor cases brought by the sheriff’s office.
Mayor Keith Gaskin declined to be interviewed in person or by phone for this report, but he did email a statement to The Dispatch.
“I am in the process of reviewing the actions of both the Columbus Police Department and the Municipal Court concerning the arrest of Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard,” it reads. “In a case like this, it is imperative that an elected official is treated just as a regular citizen would be, no better, no worse. However, I am also aware we must be careful to avoid any conflicts of interest, particularly between elected officials and city employees, such as Columbus Police Department personnel and Municipal Court staff, over whom the Mayor and City Council have direct authority and responsibility, including employment, salary, and disciplinary decisions. I am currently reviewing all policies the city has which address the situation, and I will be working with the city attorney to update and improve those policies to avoid any further instances of conflicts of interest, whether real or perceived.”
City Attorney Jeff Turnage told The Dispatch he wasn’t aware of any formal city policy for how specifically to handle criminal cases involving city officials — such as allowing them to be handled by the sheriff’s office. In this case, he said, it might have seemed too dangerous for city officers to wait on county officers rather than responding immediately.
“You did have an emergency call with a victim alleging a firearm had been discharged,” Turnage said.
Still, he said he is agreeable in working with Gaskin to draft a formal policy.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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