A part-time police officer with a suspension in his past is at the center of a departmental investigation into his conduct.
Louis Alexander has been removed from the duty roster and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his whereabouts and actions related to a Jan. 19 shooting at a residence on 14th Avenue North, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation who spoke to The Dispatch on the condition of anonymity. Police Chief Joseph Daughtry notified City Hall of the decision via email on Tuesday, 26 days after the incident, some of those sources confirmed.
One source noted Daughtry is leading the investigation himself.
WCBI has filed two public records complaints with the Mississippi Ethics Commission against the city and police department seeking incident reports related to the incident and broke the story Feb. 7. Their reporting indicated an off-duty officer was reportedly present at the 14th Avenue residence where gambling was allegedly taking place. A man was shot outside the residence and drove himself to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for treatment. The off-duty officer left the scene and did not call 911 about the shooting.
Previous news reports did not include the officer’s name, but the sources The Dispatch spoke with confirmed it was Alexander.
Alexander worked full time for Columbus Police Department from 1989-2008, retiring as a sergeant. He rejoined the force as a part-time patrolman in December 2015.
The city council suspended Alexander for 30 days without pay in March 2018 after he was stopped for drunk driving in Starkville. Despite a Breathalyzer showing his blood alcohol level at more than twice the legal limit, he was neither arrested nor cited. Instead, Starkville Police Department notified CPD, which sent an officer to pick him up.
Then-SPD chief Frank Nichols at the time said his officers did that out of “professional courtesy” for a fellow police officer but admitted in a press conference that was a mistake.
Daughtry did not return several calls and messages from The Dispatch by press time.
Mayor Keith Gaskin, when reached by The Dispatch on Tuesday, would not comment on the record, citing the issue is a personnel matter.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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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 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
