Over the last four months of Garland Ward’s employment as McComb police chief, he was fired, rehired and involved in a single-car accident in his police unit.
Though Ward’s hire was reportedly approved weeks ago as a new assistant chief for the Columbus Police Department, he didn’t let McComb leaders know that until Friday.
Columbus officials announced during a press conference Wednesday the police department would expand its command staff to have two assistant chiefs. Ward will lead operations while Doran Johnson — who already served as assistant chief and was interim chief briefly after Fred Shelton retired in July — will lead administration.
Both will work under Police Chief Joseph Daughtry, whom the city hired in December.
Ward’s official first day in Columbus is Wednesday and he is not yet on the payroll, Mayor Keith Gaskin told The Dispatch, but he has been visible in Columbus for at least a couple of weeks, attending city administrative meetings and even meeting with officers.
That was news to McComb officials, particularly Mayor Quordiniah Lockley, who thought he was still working as their city’s chief. For an article published in The Enterprise-Journal on Thursday, he indicated Ward, who has been McComb’s police chief since June 2020, had not resigned from that post.
Lockley told The Dispatch on Friday afternoon, however, that Ward had submitted a resignation letter to him with an effective date of Feb. 15 — though Lockley would not disclose exactly when he received that letter. Lockley said he asked Ward to think about his decision and get back with him.
“(Friday) morning, he came in and said, ‘I’m gone,’” Lockley told The Dispatch. “… I was not aware until our conversation (Friday) morning that he had taken the job (in Columbus).”
Ward told The Enterprise-Journal he submitted his letter of resignation on Monday.
The wreck
Ward is leaving McComb in the shadow of an investigation into the circumstances of a one-vehicle accident he had in his police car, presumably earlier this month. Though city officials and media reports don’t specify a date, all report the wreck happened after Ward was hired in Columbus.
Lockley told The Dispatch Ward was assisting other officers in a chase on Interstate 55 when he lost control of the vehicle and grazed a guardrail. No one was injured.
From there, Ward returned to the police station and allowed Pike County Sheriff’s Office to take a report, Lockley said. Per city procedure when officers are involved in accidents, Ward then went to the hospital for a drug test, which came back clean, Lockley said.
“All of the procedures were followed,” Lockley said.
When contacted by The Dispatch on Friday, Pike County Sheriff’s Office denied it had any report on a wreck involving Ward.
Matt Codding, a McComb selectman, said the board intends to request “radio chatter” and 911 calls related to the accident, how it happened and how it was handled.
“We want to verify the series of events leading to the accident … and whether city procedures were followed after that,” Codding told The Dispatch on Saturday.
The Dispatch could not reach Ward by press time. Daughtry did not return multiple calls and messages seeking comment.
Firing, rehiring
Codding was one of three selectmen who voted Oct. 11 to remove Ward as chief. At the time, the six-member board had a vacancy.
A month later, a special election filled the vacancy and Ward was rehired as chief Nov. 10, with Lockley breaking a 3-3 tie in favor of bringing him back. The city in January agreed to pay Ward $5,800 to settle a wrongful termination complaint, according to the Enterprise-Journal.
“It was a political issue that had nothing to do with his job performance,” Lockley told The Dispatch regarding Ward’s brief firing. “… He’s done an excellent job as far as I’m concerned. … The city of McComb is losing an excellent police chief, and the city of Columbus is getting an excellent deputy chief.”
Codding said Ward’s firing absolutely reflected “poor job performance,” as far as he was concerned, as well as a “big spike in crime year over year.”
He specifically mentioned the murders of a 6-year-old and two 18-year-olds. The Enterprise Journal reported there were 12 murders in McComb in 2022.
“I hope he’s able to be a better departmental leader moving forward,” Codding told The Dispatch.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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